It was a glorious evening of refreshing musical, dance and theatrical galore at the Honourable Justice Mustapha Akanbi (retd.) residence in Ilorin, as the National Theatre of Ghana on Monday, 2nd of April, paid him a courtesy visit. 

The gathering which had in attendance family, friends, colleagues and well wishers of the retired President, Court of Appeal, Nigeria, witnessed amazing displays in form of dance, play excerpt and symphonic orchestra from the visiting West coast guests. 

The various performances by National Dance Company, National Theatre Company and National Symphony Orchestra of the National Theatre of Ghana, included Kpanlogo from Accra, Kete (Court dance) from Akan land and Borborbor (Recreational dance) from Volta region, that showcased the rich inter-cultural heritage of Africa, and portrayed theatre as a route to universal unification of Arts and artists in Africa. 

Speaking about the performances and their origins at the occasion, the Artistic Director, National Theatre of Ghana, Mr Mawuli Sęmęvo explained, “The first performance, our intro dance or music is from the Ga Land, which is a name for the people of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. So, we have its Kpanlogo music and its dance. It is very inspirational. 

“We had the second dance preceded by a solo performance. That solo performance is from the Volta region of Ghana from one of great orators called Akpalu. He uses his own serially to admonish, and the song precisely meant that one should learn to have formal education because it helps a lot... So, Akpalu is advising that you should learn to have formal education in addition to the informal education we have in our homes because formal education opens up your mind and exposes you to the world. 

“The second dance was followed by the Court or State dance called Kete from Akan Land, where the movements were done towards the old (Justice Mustapha) Akanbi. It was followed by an excerpt from a play titled: Marriage of Anansewa. It is from Ananse. 

“Ananse is our folk hero, the trickster who either gets into trouble or comes out victorious with his cunning behaviour. His daughter is called Anansewa. So, his daughter was of age to marry, but he needed somebody who could take care of the daughter so that he would also enjoy in life. So, he started planning tricks as to how wealthy people and chiefs could marry his daughter.” 

On the significance of the play to the Ghanaian theatre industry, he stressed, “ I must say that the play, Marriage of Anansewa, when it came out, it’s in its literary form. It is a play that put the Ghanaian theatre genre into literary books. So, we have Anansigro- that is our Ghanaian theatre genre.” 

The visitation was feasible as a result of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the National Theatre of Ghana and the National Theatre and the National Troupe of Nigeria Board, as well as between the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, University of Ilorin (Unilorin) as part of exchange programme, ensured by a professional artist, dancer and lecturer with Unilorin, Prof Jeleel Ojuade.  

Giving insights to the take home from the visit, Mr Sęmęvo said, “As a cultural exchange programme, this is a cultural interaction. It is exposing us to the kind of different things that we have in Africa. If you take note, Nigeria and Ghana have very mini ethnic groups but we exist peacefully.” 

On the motivation for the Memorandum of Understanding that brought about the coming of the National Theatre of Ghana to Ilorin, Prof Jeleel Ojuade disclosed, “I actually won a grant by American Council for Learned Societies’ African Humanities programme in 2014, where I spent 3 months in Accra. 

“I worked with the National Theatre Ghana, Legon and at the same time with the Institute of African studies, where I discovered we shared a lot of things in common with Ghanaians, particularly their culture and tradition.  

“So, this actually gave me the insight that we need to do more to relate more so that we can both have a kind of exchange programme between staff-students of the universities in Nigeria and that of the universities in Ghana, and also to create a kind of coming together between town and gown, which I think is necessary.  That is why I said they should be coming to Nigeria and we should be going to Ghana.” 

The Professor who expressed optimism with the exchange programme said the gathering would leave a lasting impact, “I feel cool and I am happy because sometimes, it’s very hard to create an idea; to follow it up might be difficult or to realise it. I think we are able to realise it. I think it will affect a lot of people positively.” 

On the messages embedded in the various performances at the event, Prof Ojuade explained, “They (National Theatre of Ghana) have played with traditions here. We could see some traditional dances. We saw some ritual dances. We saw some royal dances. Even the short performance (i.e. play excerpt) shows life in Africa. You know we are always happy. 

“If you see the interpretations of the dances, you’ve seen the dancers smiling despite the rigorous movements. It shows the agility in everybody if danced to. 

“If everybody dances like this, you would see that physically one would be fit. I mean, there won’t be any kind of diseases. You will shake them off and then continue to enjoy life.” He noted. 

The Professor who is also a performance/cultural studies and copyright expert concluded by saying, “In fact, theatre is life and life is all about theatre”. 

In his address, the Wakili Ilory, Honourable Justice Muhammad Mustapha Akanbi (rtd), CFR, described the courtesy visit by the National Theatre of Ghana as a recognition of the good work he started in Ghana, his country of birth, thanking the group for their open visitation. 

The Pioneer Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), who is also a retired President, Federal Court of Appeal, said he has Ghana in his blood, as his earlier life was lived in Ghana, wherein, he contributed  to the growth of that country by serving as a public servant and participated in its then nascent politics. 

Justice Akanbi whose spirit was lifted by the series of performances showcased at his residence, said he would never forget Accra because it had assisted in shaping what he becomes today. 

Chairman, Mustapha Akanbi Foundation, who appreciated the group women dancers,  gave the sum of enveloped Fifty thousand naira (#50,000) to the visiting performers, at the end of programmes highlighted for the visitation. 

He coupled the gesture with copies of his books such as: his poetry book, written and completed on a sickbed in England, titled “Collections of School Poem: Learnt in the 1940s”, his book on corruption titled “Corruption on Prowl”, and his autobiography book entitled “The Story of my Two Worlds: Challenges, Experiences and Achievements”. 

He also handed over a host of other works to the theatre group.