***Tribute to Oba Gbenga Sonuga
With sadness in my heart, I wish to announce the passing of the man we all called BABA CULTURE.
He brought me into the culture sector in 1985. He was instrumental to my first trip outside Nigeria in 1986 when he led the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture on the performance of ORI written and directed by Funmi Odusolu to the USA.
He tactically restructured the Lagos Arts Council. Before he took over in 1984, the Council was only known for dance performances especially for the guests of the then Governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
Baba Culture restructured the Lagos Arts Council into departments such as Design, Performing Arts, Architecture and Monuments, Festivals, etc.
He ran a golden era of the Lagos Arts Council to the point that no any other Director of the Council has been able to match his records.
He ran the Council for 10 years and left in 1994 after winning for Lagos State the overall first prize at the year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST).
Shortly after his disengagement from the Council, he ran the International Centre for the Arts, Lagos (ICAL) with which he led cultural advocacy, culture administration for culture workers and led the ICAL Troupe to Austria, Mozambique, UK, USA, etc.
He later became a monarch when he was crowned as the FADESEWA OF SIMAWA, OGUN STATE.
Only two days ago, His Royal Highness, Oba Gbenga Sonuga quietly joined his ancestors at the ripe age of 82.
**Onifade, PhD, fsna, is an author, artist and arts scholar in Abuja.
