*One of the most significant achievements of Cartoonists Association of Nigeria CARTAN since its resuscitation in 2017 has been the online campaign against killings of Nigerian civilians by the alleged Fulani herdsmen group.
The campaign which involved the distribution of cartoons laden with dominant red colour as a metaphor for violence and killings in the country was launched on May 3, 2018, to mark world press day and ended in December of the same year with an online exhibition on https://www.africacartoons.com
Cartoonists Association of Nigeria bounced back when Cartoonist and Academician Dr Jimoh A. Ganiyu popularly called by his pen name … Jimga, together with Dr Akin Onipede, a cartoonist and lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts saw this as an excellent opportunity to reignite the spirit of CARTAN and promptly acted on the lead to breath new life into a defunct association.
In 2012 during his PhD field research, his encounter with great cartoonists and scholars of cartoons created a lasting impression, about the role Nigerian cartoonists have played and continue to play in socio-political spatial negotiations in me. As one of his research objectives, Dr Ganiyu set out to “re-unite” Nigerian cartoonists under a sturdy unified umbrella.
This dream was ignited when Ms Motunrayo Alaka, the programme coordinator of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), consulted him for a symposium tagged The of Cartoon: Imaging Social Reality in November 2016. The seminar which took place in Lagos on December 2, 2016 was targeted at the Nigerian cartoonists and intended to contribute to raising discussion on the status of cartooning in Nigeria’s news media. It must be said that the legendary cartoonist and artist Professor Dele Jegede, Nigerian-American painter, art historian, curator, art critic, art administrator, and teacher, first formed CARTAN in1985/1986 whilst in Nigeria and also persuaded cartoonists to come together to form an association with a collective voice. Nigeria was rife with great cartoonists, Kenny Adamson, Femi Jolaosho, Boye Gbenro, Morak Oguntade, Tayo Fatunla, Toyin Akingbule, Bayo Odulana, Mooyiwa Adetiba, Ebun Aleshinloye, Bisi Ogunbadejo, Josy Ajiboye and Dotun Gboyega to mention a few. “As many as existed then everybody who was somebody showed up at the convened meeting for the formation of first ever of CARTAN“ said Professor Jegede.
Since 2017 CARTAN has been waxing stronger with new members signing on. Recently, registration of the association was secured with the active participation of the board of trustees namely: Ebun Aleshinloye, Dr (Mrs) Obi Ezekwesili and Professor Dele Jegede. The first election was conducted in November 2019 with Mike Asukwo emerging as the President, Femi Adedeji – Secretary, Franklin Oyekusibe– Publication Editor, Mustapha Bulamaa – online editor and Hezekieh Adim as Treasurer. A cartoonist himself, Franklin Oyekusibe encouraged the executive to think of broadening the coverage of the cartooning genre to actively include other cartooning practitioners besides Editorial Cartoonists and also for the association to be business-minded with initiatives. He also called for prompt intervention in the on-going debate on Hate Speech on national level. Professor Jegede implores CARTAN to do more in deed than in words. He says that CARTAN will go through teething problems but the collective will, will see it through. it is important to have two or three major sets of activities in a year to raise CARTAN‘s collective profile. So far, the only gathering of Political cartoon exhibition was at the National theatre, Lagos which involved 26 cartoonists and was spearheaded by a former CARTAN president Adenle Adewale. Chukuemeka Emenike is also known to have been CARTAN‘s president before the association’s resuscitation.
TRIBUTE
CARTAN mourns the passing of Nigeria’s Professor Tejumola Olaniyan, the Louise Durham Mead Professor of English and Languages at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, US. Professor Olaniyan was one of the most brilliant and accomplished Professors of English, African Literature and Black Studies in the world. Tributes have poured in from around the globe and from his Nigerian colleagues in the field of art and education and from his past students . Professor Olaniyan was responsible for cataloguing cartoons by African cartoonists arranging them into academic narratives. He conceived the site https://www.africacartoons.com as an educational encyclopaedia of African political cartooning and cartoonists. The first ever continent-wide digital encyclopaedia. He was responsible for a couple of my cartoons featured in the Guardian UK’s online web site https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/feb/19/africas-political-cartoons-in-pictures – He elevated the genre which has given prominence to the many artists, heard and unheard of. His work and efforts, has not been replicated anywhere else and this should not be the end of it. I am hoping project managers Tolu Akinwole ([email protected]) and Olagbenro Oladipo ([email protected]) will keep the cataloguing of Africa cartoons and web site going for his legacy to be intact and credited accordingly in the future. I will miss my association with him and how he was responsible for having my cartoons featured in the Guardian UK newspaper’s online web site at first. Professor Tejumola Olaniyan….gone too soon at 60, leaving behind his wife and two daughters.
TAYO Fatunla is an award-winning Nigerian Comic Artist, Editorial Cartoonist, Writer and Illustrator. He is a graduate of the prestigious Kubert School, in New Jersey, US. and recipient of the 2018 ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award for his illustrated OUR ROOTS creation and series – Famous people in Black History – He participated in the UNESCO’s Cartooning In Africa forum held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Cartooning Global Forum in Paris, France.
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