General
GTBank, British Council Sponsor Wind Sculpture VI
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Africa’s foremost financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, has partnered the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, to sponsor the installation of the Wind Sculpture VI by renowned British-Nigerian artist, Mr Yinka Shonibare MBE in Ndubuisi Kanu Park, Ikeja, Lagos.
The installation of the Wind Sculpture VI will be the first time that Shonibare’s work has gone on public display in Nigeria.
The fibreglass artwork, six metres high by three metres wide, forms part of a series of important large-scale works that marked a new departure for Mr Shonibare by working in fibre-glass and steel. Using these materials, Mr Shonibare investigates the shifting movement of wind passing through fabricand through these grand sculptures, he encapsulates the sheer volume of wind three-dimensionally with exquisite dynamism.
As part of the unveiling of the sculpture, Mr Shonibare will give a talk to students and attend a screening of his work at the site of the installation.
Mr Shonibare is a Nigerian-British artist renowned for his exploration of the issues of race and class through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and film.
His trademark material is the brightly coloured ‘African’ batik fabric and one of his most famous works is ‘Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle,’ which, in May 2010, was unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London with the support of GTBank.
In 2013, the bank also supported his Wind Sculpture “FABRIC–ATION,” one of the artist’s largest and most comprehensive exhibitions.
GTBank’s support for the installation of the Wind Sculpture VI is the latest of its sustained efforts to promote African and Africa-inspired arts locally and internationally.
It closely follows the bank’s launch, in September, of ART635, a foremost online repository of African artworks and the leading platform for the promotion of indigenous artists across the continent.
Arts is one of the four pillars of GTBank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and the bank’s support for Arts over the years ranges from collecting art work from Nigerian artists, to partnering institutions to promote the value of African Art in Africa and the international markets through project-lead initiatives.
Commenting on the bank’s unveiling of the Wind Sculpture VI, Mr Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of GTBank Plc, said that, “With its bright colours of traditional African fabrics, Yinka’s Wind Sculpture VI reflects the creativity of an artist who is incredibly proud of his African heritage.
“As a proudly African and Truly International Bank and an ardent supporter of Art, we are delighted to co-sponsor the exhibition of this magnificent work of Art and we hope it will intrigue and inspire everyone who views it.”
GTBank has consistently played a leading role in Africa’s banking industry.
The bank is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The office of the president-elect has confirmed that Mr Bola Tinubu has jetted out of Nigeria for a rest in the United Kingdom and France ahead of his swearing-in ceremony slated for May 29, 2023.
An online platform on Wednesday reported that the winner of the February 25 presidential election travelled to Europe for urgent medical attention.
But in a statement issued by one of his aides, Mr Tunde Rahman, it was emphasized that the former Governor of Lagos State only left the country to have a rest in London and Paris before going to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj.
It was disclosed that Mr Tinubu travelled out of Nigeria on Tuesday night via the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.
“After a very exhaustive campaign and election season, President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration.
“The President-elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, for Europe on Tuesday night.
“The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.
“While away, the President-elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme.
“He is expected back in the country soon.
“We enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office,” the statement said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The candidate of the Labour Party in the governorship election in Abia State, Mr Alex Otti, has been declared as the winner of the exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The former banker polled a total of 175,467 votes to defeat his closest rival in the poll, Mr Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 88,529 votes.
The Abia State governorship election was earlier declared inconclusive by the electoral umpire due to issues arising from over-voting. The collation centre had to be moved to Abuja from Umuahia, the state capital.
The governor-elect, in a short post via his verified Twitter handle, reacted to the development by saying, “See what the Lord has done.”
Mr Otti left the banking industry a few years ago after serving as the managing director of the defunct Diamond Bank, which merged with Access Bank. He left his office in the bank to pursue his political ambition in 2015, but he failed until he succeeded in 2023.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed public sector workers in the country to embark on strike beginning from Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
President of the union, Mr Joe Ajaero, gave this directive at a media briefing at Labour House in Abuja on Wednesday, March 22.
He also directed affiliate unions of the NLC to be on standby for a picketing exercise across all branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nationwide.
The union leader said the directive became imperative following the expiration of a one-week ultimatum given to the apex bank to make cash available for Nigerians.
The scarcity has heightened with plans by the central bank to mop up the old Naira in circulation. The apex bank recently said it had removed N2.3 trillion from circulation between October 2022 and February 2023 while printing fewer new notes.
Business Post reported that between October last year and February 2023, the cash in circulation dropped to N982.09 billion from N3.29 trillion.
This is one of the factors that has extended the scarcity of the Naira and have also prolonged it into March.
Despite the Supreme Court judgement on March 3, 2023, that the old Naira remain legal until December 31, 2023, new notes have not reached many households with the old notes and new notes difficult to acquire.
With the cash in circulation dropping and the currency in commercial banks’ vaults or that of the CBN rising, Nigerians still find it difficult to access the money deposited in their accounts despite the ruling that the new and old notes should co-exist for 10 months.
