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.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.
Nike
OkundayeThe 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.