Anikulapo: Celebrating cultural rights defender at UNESCO Creative City, Asaba
By Godwin Okondo
IT was the most auspicious moment on March 9, 2025 for UNESCO Defender of Cultural Rights Mr. Jahman Anikulapo to be celebrated in a unique painting session at the UNESCO Creative City, 2023, Asaba, Delta State capital. It would be recalled that late last year, the founder of Culture Caucus Advocate (CAC) and Programme Chairman of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), Mr. Jahman Anikulapo was named winner of the prestigious UNESCO Defender of Cultural Rights Award 2024 in faraway Argentina. Mr. Anikulapo is also co-organiser of the famous 26-year old Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF). The painting session had as theme ‘Portriat of a Culture Defender @UNESCO.’
But while the news of Mr. Anikulapo’s explots seemed to have simmered down somewhat, a culture organisation in Asaba, seized on the initiative to deepen the win by memorialising it with a painting and exhibition showcase early in March 2025 at the Indigenous Culture Center, Asaba. Mr. Anikulapo is easily an effable enabler of artistic and culture expressions in the Lagos and Nigeria’s culture circuit, ploughing his hands on every worthy culture projects in parts of the country. Apart from the Lagos Book and Art Festival and its CORA-enabled BookTreks, Mr. Anikulapo is also a co-founder of the ongoing iREP Docu-Film Festival 2025 at Alliance Francaise, Ikoyi, Lagos and curator of the yearly Providus Bank Poetry Cafe that celebrates World Poetry Day.
An excited Director of the Indigenous Culture Center, Asaba, Mr. Washington Uba, had enthused prior to the painting event, “Greetings creative family! We’re rolled out the drums for the huge celebration of one of our Art Patrons, Jahman Anikulapo, who won the prestigious global award as the UNESCO Defender of Cultural Rights Award of the year 2024. It’s awesome to celebrate him as my father in the art industry at the Indigenous Cultural Center at the Delta State Film Village, Anwai, Asaba, with a portrait painting session of him by the resident artists of the centre at the UNESCO Creative City, Asaba. What a wonderful day! We’ll equally be launching our studio apron today. We’ll be having our first group picture today as well.
“On March 9, 2025 at the Indigenous Cultural Center, Asaba, we rolled out our drums, canvases, acrylic paints and brushes amidst palm wine and bush meat to celebrate one of our art patrons Mr. Jahman Anikulapo as a UNESCO Culture Defender 2024!
“Long live Jahman Anikulapo! Long live UNESCO! Long live the creative city Asaba!! Long live Indigenous Culture Center, Asaba!”
At the event in faraway Argentina, while receiving the award, Mr. Anikulapo had acknowledged the win via a recorded video where he stated his mission for the promotion of cultural rights particularly on the African continent and globally.
According to him, “I’m honoured to be conferred with the CIPDH UNESCO Recognition for Cultural Rights Defenders Award,” he told his global audience. “Arts liberates. Culture elevates. Humanity is divine. Arts and culture are the two special vehicles I have relied on and deployed for my advocacy for the promotion and preservation of human values and principles in my over four decades of endeavours as a literary and performing artist, journalist and advocate. I’m ever convinced that the sanity, dignity and elevation of our collective humanity can be easily achieved through intentional, appropriate and effective cultural education for members of the human family. I’m indeed doubly honoured to be recognised for the modest work I have done over these decades, and I’m assured that I should not relent in the pursuit of my life’s mission: advocacy for the betterment of our common humanity.”
UNESCO Cultural Rights Defender Award winner Mr. Jahman Anikulapo
