From Magnus Eze, Abuja
Not many knew that there was a professional photographer in the First Family until last weekend, when Hanan, one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughters, hosted a solo photo exhibition in Abuja.
The event, tagged “Innovation by Hanan,” which held from August 25 to 27, 2017, attracted the high and mighty, including First Lady Aisha Buhari, who was on hand to support her daughter.
Hosted at the upscale Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja, the programme revealed how the young lady defied parental pressure on her to study medicine or information technology and embraced photography.
Hanan’s courage and ability to sway her parents is a strong statement on the changing times, given the conservative background of the Buharis.
The President’s wife, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, exhibition curator, Prof. Jerry Buhari of the Fine Arts Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and ace photographer, T.Y. Bello, were of the view that Hanan’s journey into photography would change people’s perception of arts, especially photography, in the country.
Mrs. Buhari admonished parents to always support their children in whatever profession they choose, as according to her, “Nigerians and the children in particular are highly talented and what they need is a little push from their parents to actualise their dreams.”
She also tasked government to pay more attention to vocational schools, including creating the enabling environment for those that have passion in special skills like arts to excel.
In his remarks, Mohammed described Hanan as a “game changer,” pointing out that her passion for photography would encourage more young people to showcase their creativity.
He expressed the optimism that it would open the floodgates for many young people to begin to explore film, music, photography, interior decoration, architecture, publishing and other creative vocations, stressing that art is the future of Nigeria.
Mohammed said: “What we are witnessing today is an endorsement from the highest quarter that the creative industry is that area of our economy, which we have not really paid enough attention to.”
He averred that the present administration has demonstrated beyond doubt that it is committed to moving the creative industry from obscurity to the front burner of the economy through various initiatives, including the granting of pioneer status to the sector, capacity building, and exploring creative approach to funding.
In his curatorial statement on behalf of Hanan, Prof. Buhari said this was, arguably, the first time that a young lady of aristocratic parentage would choose to be a photographer.
Regretting that many students had been ruined by parental pressure for them to study courses they did not like, he extolled the First Lady, whom he said allowed Hanan have her way, irrespective of her traditional background.
He said: “I can assure that for 34 years, many of us have ruined our children by forcing them to read courses they don’t want to read. This is one of the reasons in universities like the Ahmadu Bello University, we have students who are on drugs; they are frustrated, they can’t do what their parents want them to do, so they find a way of escape.”
The fine arts lecturer said his interaction with the exhibitor showed that, regardless of her young age, she had been able to marry expectations, tradition, vision and modernity.
He, therefore, urged guests to make out time after the opening session to visit the gallery, positing that, “The best time to enjoy an art exhibition is to come back quietly alone and engage the works. In art, we say the artist creates the work; once the work assumes a life of its own, it becomes independent of the artist.”
Ordinary but deep
Many of Hanan’s works centred on the pastoral Fulani culture; quite dominant of them was her series on the shepherd life. There were also portraits that may look ordinary unless given deeper reading, like the works titled Agbalumo (Udara), Red (Pepper) and Periwinkle (Isam in Ibo). In all, 32 photographs of four main directions were on display.
However, the relationship between a Fulani herder and his cattle seemed to have captured the interest of Prof. Buhari most: “the photograph of the young Fulani man with a yellow shirt and rain jacket can speak to all of us. And I think, somehow, it is important to underscore this point, that when we speak, for example, about Fulani herdsmen, we think of people that have gangs and kill, but we forget that they are human beings, they have capacity to love, care and to be frightened and even run.
“I think, whenever we think about what people do to us, we should also think about our role in the relationship.”
The curator also noted that Hanan’s photographs of fashion portraitures betrayed her love for life, having displayed total control of her models, the costumes, the environment and the light that defined her visual narratives.
When it was the exhibitor’s turn to speak, her message was straight to Nigerian youths that they can be whatever they want to become, in medicine, politics, and arts.
“You should always stand for yourself and let your parents know what you love to do.”
She thanked her parents for giving her the support to show the world another side of Nigeria through unique photographs.
“My work is unique, it stands out, it has a different definition and style and sends different messages to different people around the world,” Hanan said.
Ace photographers T.Y. Bello and Tolu Jinadu showered encomiums on the young artist.
“I am really inspired by this that a young photographer will be bold enough to express her perspectives. I find the works really amazing”, Bello said, while Jinadu declared that “It takes bravery to do an exhibition; you must be very sure of what you are doing and confident about your pictures. Her pictures are quite nice and there’s always room for improvement.”