By Ata Ukuta
When Serena Williams stepped into the Center Court of the ongoing US Open before her first-round match, she was greeted by the announcer and the electronic banner as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). To some, this is incorrect taking into consideration that she only won 23 grand slams as against the 24 of Margaret Court. But to many who would objectively analyze how Margaret Court won her grand slams and the hurdles Serena Williams had to overcome to win 23 and her impact on the sport, the choice of who should be the greatest of all time like Mohammed Ali in boxing, is quite simple. Nevertheless, the debate of the greatest of all time in any field of endeavor is a very heated debate that is often clouded by emotions, racism (tribalism), half-truths, insufficient information, and hype. Thinking about these, my role model extraordinary Bruce Onobrakpeya came to mind. As Daddy Bruce – the name his numerous artistic children affectionately call him, marks ninety years on planet Earth, it is worth analyzing his achievements vis-a-vis his continued legacy and placement in the rollcall of artists globally and historically.
If you ask the football fans of the present era who is the greatest of all time, they will most likely name Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo even if none of them has won football’s highest honors – the World Cup. It would be difficult for you to get anyone who would mention Pele who has similar stellar records in club football with legendary records at the World Cup. The football fan who mentions Pele would most likely be old, Black, or Brazilian. This is often how the debate about the Greatest Of All Time becomes highly subjective. And I might be guilty. But my guilt is more factual than the conclusion of Ronaldo and Messi’s supporters. To me, Bruce Onobrakpeya is the Greatest Of All Time in Visual Art. I say this with my knowledge of what Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso achieved. And I say this responsibly. I also say this taking into consideration the fact that if Bruce Onobrakpeya was of a different race, my declaration will not be seen as unseemly as it seems.
Bruce Onobrakpeya was born in Agbarha-Otor, Delta State on the 30th of August 1932 to a gifted carver from the Urhobo tribe of the Niger Delta of present-day Nigeria. He attended Western Boys High School, Benin City (the seat of the great artistic African kingdom), where he was taught Art by Edward Ivehivboje, among other subjects. He also attended drawing classes at the British Council Art Club in Benin City. Onobrakpeya was inspired by the watercolor paintings of Emmanuel Erabor. After leaving high school, Onobrakpeya was hired because of his artistic genius as an art teacher at the Western Boys High School (1953–56) – his alma mater. In the Harmattan of 1957, Onobrakpeya was admitted to the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology, now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Bruce Onobrakpeya has exhibited at the Tate Modern (London), Smithsonian Institute (Washington DC), and the Malmo Konsthall (Sweden) among other notable art establishments around the world. Public collections holding his work include the Vatican Museum (Rome), The British Museum (London), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Hvittrask Suomi (Finland), Leader of Victory Museum, Baghdad (Iraq), King Mohammed VI Collection (Morocco), and the Presidential Villa Collection, Aso Rock, Abuja (Nigeria) to mention a few. Even if I am accused of being biased because I am an Urhobo man, Bruce Onobrakpeya is the Greatest Visual Artist Of All Time. As the celebration of his 90th birthday continues, I am grateful to the Almighty for blessing planet Earth with a man so resoundingly gifted and worth emulating in every respect or facet of life – from his Art to his conduct as a human, husband, father, mentor, and role model.
Ata Ukuta – Editor, Towncryyers