Beyond being the commercial and entertainment capital of Nigeria, Lagos can rightly be saluted as the No. 1 home of festivals too. Or, is there any other Nigerian city or state that hosts as many as the big festivals that happen in the aquatic city annually?
Just consider what it witnessed in the past few weeks: the African Movies Academy Awards finale, Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), the Lagos Poetry Festival, Lagos Book and Arts Festival (LABAF), the GTCO Fashion Weekend and the Lagos International Theatre Festival, among others.
Yet, there is this other one that particularly tickled the city for a whole week, keeping it dancing like a troupe of seasoned moths. That is the Afropolis Festival staged by the Lagos State Government with celebrated dancer, Qudus Onikeku, as Artistic Director. Held between 26 October and 3 November at the sprawling, Onikan-based John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, the spectacular feast unleashed musicians, dancers, poets, and other creatives from different parts of the world on fun-loving residents and tourists.
Also combining visual and fashion display, the festival, which Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu accorded all needed impetus to make it a huge success, made a carnival of the iconic Onikan area, eating into the neighbouring National Museum/MUSON Centre’s territories, in spite of the expansive and inspiring space the Randle Centre provided.
There were also film screening and panel discussions which participants described as strategic and rewarding. In all, folks attended Afropolis 2024 from over 11 countries. They included people from Senegal, Benin Republic, Colombia, the Netherlands, Cameroon, Ethiopia, the UK, Germany, Brazil, France, Lebanon, Canada, Uruguay and the United States of America, while stakeholders also came from different parts of Nigeria, including Jos, Abuja and Kaduna.
On the list of musicians in concert were Made Kuti, Keziah Jones, Celia Wa, Fokn Boys, Cef Ashanta, Alibeta, Oba, Dotti the Deiti, among others. Those also billed for the dance performances included Katy Streek, Adila Omotoso, Addy Daiel, Mufutau Yusuf, Qdance Company, Qudud Onikeku, and Team Switch. So exciting and versatile were the performances that many people did not miss any of the day’s spectacles.
Another plus for the Afropolis 2024 is that it went without any negative incident. The ambience was compliant with international standards, giving visitors especially from foreign countries the peace of mind to savour the shows. Security was very tight but the officials on duty managed the situations with a friendly architecture.
Of course, because of his natural interest in the creative arts and the fact that Afropolis is the Lagos Government’s own project, Sanwo-Olu attended some of the programmes. He, for instance, also visited the festival ground the day Jah Man, a musician from Benin Republic; and Naija’s own Made performed.
Sharing his experience after seeing another of the programmes, Sanwo-Olu had noted on his Facebook page: “Today, I attended Afropolis Lagos 2024, an international festival celebrating arts, culture, creativity, and innovation at the J Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan. “The festival aims to turn Lagos into a centre of African creativity, inviting artists, innovators, and enthusiasts from all over the continent and beyond. “We remain committed to ensuring that Lagos State remains a viable hub for the arts and a centre for creativity in Africa and beyond. “I’m also happy to share that the J Randle Centre is now open to the public”.
While there were also master conversations to deepen the culture and business of it, Afropolis 2024 indeed brought out the inspiring beauty of the Randle Centre. The expansive structure meant that different programmes could simultaneously hold during the festival. Besides, the events gave participants an opportunity to feel the huge and enviably successful investment that the arena is. No wonder, because its management is proud of what the centre has become, it easily welcomed the organisers’ idea of spontaneous and structured tours of its facilities.
