Not many in her homeland appear
to know about her unique story. But in other lands, especially Europe and
America, she is a ‘goddess’ whose works are cherished by kings and presidents.
Without a doubt, the story of Nike Okundaye, the face behind the huge success
story of Nike Arts Gallery, located in Lagos, Abuja and Osogbo, is as
compelling as it is inspiring.
At a time when young Nigerians are in desperate need of a role model and
inspiration in what self-belief and hard work can achieve, Nike’s rise from the
status of an unknown village girl born into a seemingly insignificant family in
a rustic village to a globally celebrated icon would make an A-list inspirational
novel.
Born in her native village of
Ogidi, Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State, young Nike had high dreams
about what type of future she wanted for herself. But her dreams were truncated
even before they could take form when she lost her mother at age six. “I was
six when my mother died,” she said with a tinge of sadness.
With the blow inflicted on her dreams by her mother’s death, young Nike was
taken away to live with her grandmother. At the time, many believed that by
going to live with an old woman, the young girl’s future had been compromised.
But events have since proved that destiny may indeed have been at work in her
journey through life.
She had her first contact with the world of arts through her grandmother, who
at the time, was the leader of cloth weavers in the community.
She said: “I come from a family of craftsmen. My parents were crafts people
from Ogidi in Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State. My life as an artist is
something that I was born with. I started weaving at the age of six.
“I started with weaving different things, including adire, a traditional Yoruba
hand-painted cloth design. As a matter of fact, I can say everything that had
to do with textile. They taught me how to weave, using a little calabash.
Gradually, I graduated to using bigger materials.”
Though Nike was six years old and barely able to tell the difference between
her left and right hands, she already had a picture of the kind of future she
wanted.
“My grandmother was the head of all the weavers in our community. So, even as a
little child, I already had a dream that I would own a big studio when I grew
up. People came from different areas to buy the cloth from her. So, at that
time, I already sensed that I might not have the opportunity to go to school.”
With the death of her mother, her grandmother, whose responsibility it was to
look after her, did not pamper her in any form. She ensured that the virtue of
hard work was instilled in Nike’s young, impressionable mind.
At that time, young Nike, unaware of the reason behind her great grandmother’s
action, would cry, believing that she was being unnecessarily punished. “I
would cry and lament because I thought she was wicked and punishing me. But
today, I always thank her for inculcating in me the virtue of hard work. It was
through her that I learnt that you must persevere in whatever you do and never
give up on your dreams.”
Although she lost her mother at a time she needed her most, Nike believes that
destiny might have been involved in the way her life played out, including her
mother’s death. According to her, the mother was a very hard working young
woman who would have spared nothing to ensure that her child got a good
education up to the university level.
“Even at that young age, I knew that my mother was very hard working. And I am
very sure that if she had not died, she would have trained me up to university
level. My father was a farmer. He also did several other things like basket
weaving to supplement his income. So, definitely, I would have been educated
very well if my mother had not died.
“But today, I look at my childhood and all that I went through as something
designed by destiny. Who knows, maybe if my mother had not died and I had gone
ahead to be educated, I may never have had the kind of opportunity that I have
today and may never have risen to the level that I am.”
Nike never went to school to study art, the vocation that has brought her to
global spotlight. Vocational training in art was passed down to her by her
great grandmother, the late Madam Ibikunle. Watching her great grandmother in
the art of adire textile processing and helping her out, Nike walked up the
line to become an expert in adire making, dyeing, weaving, painting and
embroidery.
A product of the famous Osogbo Art Movement, Nike is today a world acclaimed
artist and textile designer. She brings vivid imagination as well as a wealth
of history and tradition into the production of adire. Her works are celebrated
in major capitals of the world, with her designs exhibited in countries like
the USA, Belgium, Germany, Japan and Italy, among others.
Nike spent the early part of her life in Osogbo, a recognised hotbed for art
and culture in Nigeria. During her stay in Osogbo, her informal training was
dominated by indigo and adire.
Nike’s romance with international exposure began in 1968 when she had an
exhibition at the Goethe Institute in Lagos. Since then, she has grown to
become a major name on the international art circuit. She is most outstanding
in paintings and design of adire, beadwork and batik.
Among Nike’s proudest achievements was her invitation to Italy by the Italian
government in 2000 to train young Nigerian sex workers on how to use their
hands to engage in creative ventures. Her invitation was as a result of
complaints to the Italian government by the young Nigerians that they left
Nigeria in search of work, not knowing what they would be forced into. When
Nike got to Italy, she taught them skills in craft making and many of the women
became self-reliant in no time and stopped their old means of income.
In 2006, she was awarded one of the highest Italian national awards of merit by
the government of the Republic of Italy in appreciation of her efforts in using
art to address and solve the problems of Nigerian sex workers in Italy.
About two years ago, her adire painting was accepted at The Smithsonian, the
world’s largest museum, located in Washington DC, US. Some of her works can be
found amongst the collection of prominent personalities around the world,
including the White House.
While little is known about Nike and her works across the country, two former
presidents of the USA, Bill Clinton and George Bush, were so enthralled by her
works at various times that they sought audience with her during their visits
to Nigeria. Much more than just meeting and shaking hands with the two former
presidents, it was Nike that decorated George Bush’s room in Abuja during his
stay in the country.
These two incidents, Nike told The Nation, were some of the best things to have
happened to her.
She said: “When President Bill Clinton of the US visited Nigeria, he asked to
meet the woman behind Nike Gallery, and I was taken to Abuja to meet him. It
was the same thing with President George Bush. I was invited to meet him in
Abuja during his visit to Nigeria. I was the one that decorated the room where
the president stayed during the visit. What honour can be greater than this? I
feel accomplished.”
As an accomplished artist, Nike has taught in several universities in the US,
imparting the knowledge of her traditional adire designs in thousands of eager
students from across the world. Her teaching exploits, she disclosed, have
taken her to revered institutions like Harvard and Edmonton in Canada.
“I have lectured and held workshops in several noble institutions across the
world. Some of the universities include Harvard, Columbus, Edmonton, Ohio and
in Los Angeles, among others. My first experience with teaching was in 1974. At
that time, I taught people with doctoral degrees.”
Interestingly, all the education she had at the time, according to her, was the
traditional education that parents pass onto their children.
“The type of education I had at the time was the education that is passed from
parents to their children, not the education you get in a classroom. It was the
practical type of education,” she said with a wry smile.
In 1983, she established the Nike Centre for Art and Culture in Osogbo, Osun
State, where trainings are offered free of charge to Nigerians in various forms
of arts. The centre was opened with 20 young girls who were picked from the
streets and offered a new life in arts. So far, according to her, more than
3,000 young Nigerians have been trained at the centre.
The centre also admits
undergraduate students from many universities in Nigeria for their industrial
training programmes in textile design. The centre now admits students from
Europe, Canada and the United States of America. International scholars and
other researchers in traditional African art and culture also visit the centre
from time to time for their research works on the processing of adire fabric
and African traditional dyeing methods.
But she says the true story of the gallery started in her bedroom about 47
years ago.
“The gallery you see today actually started in my bedroom in 1968. In 2008, we
opened the one in Lagos, and my husband was always the motivator. It was
intended to give the young and old a platform to hear their voice.”
As she spoke, with signs of fulfillment splashed on her face, her husband, Reuben
Okundaye, a retired commissioner of police, who had remained quiet since the
interview started, suddenly joined in the conversation.
He said: “It is with practical education that she has continued to teach and
impart knowledge into people with doctoral degrees and masters in Fine Art.
Some of these people even come here under the cover of night to seek advice
from her. Yet, some would say she is not educated.”
Speaking about another experience, Mr. Okundaye said he once had an encounter
with a prominent Nigerian who told him that his wife would have been made a
minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria if she was educated. Surprised, he
said he took a swipe at the man, telling him his wife was better educated than
most of the people that were being flaunted.
He said: “You can imagine, I was discussing with one big man the other day and
he said that my wife would have been made a minister if she was educated. I was
angry and I asked him what he meant by that. Here is a woman who teaches people
with doctoral degrees in higher institutions all over the world, yet you say
she is not educated. But when the chips are down, they come to her for advice.”
Asked how she feels whenever she teaches in the classroom, Nike looked up as if
relishing her achievements, and said: “I feel fulfilled. It was a very high
sense of fulfillment. Imagine, a little girl who grew up in a rustic village
without any sign of hope for a good future. Now I stand before PHD holders and
teach them. I have been invited to meet presidents of foreign countries. I
think I should be proud of my little achievements and be grateful to God.”
In spite of her seeming low education, she insists she has no regrets about not
attending school. “I have no regrets at all. I give thanks to God for making all
these things possible for me. I also thank my husband for standing by me all
these years. I must confess that it was not easy coming this far. You will
agree with me that for a woman to be recognised, she has to work three times
harder than a man.”
Reechoing his wife’s position, Mr. Okundaye said Nike could not have had any
regrets, having attained the heights sought by many across the world. “You
asked if she has any regrets. How can that be possible? What kind of regret was
she supposed to have with all her achievements? She is fulfilled in every sense
of the word,” he enthused.
Expectedly, the couple was attracted to each other by their mutual love for
arts. Okundaye told The Nation how it all started: “I have always been an arts
lover. I have some of her works. Perhaps, like you said, maybe it was destiny
that brought us together.”
With a sterling career as a police officer, which saw him attaining the rank of
Commissioner of Police and serving in more than four states, the couple has in
the last 20 years of their coming together enjoyed the beauty of marriage and
weathered the storm together.
Nike, who would be 64 in a couple of weeks, has also successfully created an
identity for herself. Her most treasured clothes, she confessed, are adire
fabrics. And it is not surprising that she cannot remember the last time she
wore anything other than that.
“You may be right if you say I have created an identity for myself with my
adire clothes. It is the only thing that I am known with. I don’t wear any
other clothe, even when I travel out of the country,” she said.
