The Next President Should be a Super Hero!

In search of authentic Nigerian Super - Heroes.

By Ayodele Arigbabu.

It’s a Saturday morning, I’m taking my nephews home after two hours of Karate practice and they are having a serious discussion on the back seat. Joshua is eight years old and is keen on animated movies, football and computer games. Ini and Timi are seven year olds with similar interests. They’ve got in tow Joshua’s five year old sister- Esther and Ini’s four year old brother- Ibukun who both sit back and chew biscuits when the conversation from the older boys gets slightly above their heads.

Grown boys that they are, the conversation starts with politics. Joshua had been a staunch supporter of the current Lagos State governor- Babatunde Fashola during the election campaign period, Ini his cousin on the other hand stood solidly behind Jimi Agbaje, same as Timi who lives in the same block with Ini - albeit that Agbaje happens to be Timi’s uncle - the boys’ choices were largely influenced by the campaign posters, television commercials and radio jingles which they still recite with vigour months after the elections. These boys are faithful supporters, their dedication to their governorship candidates is as fervent as their dedication to their favourite international football clubs, that however is a story for another day. The conversation begins with the expression of a mutually shared desire for there to be another round of elections pretty soon so they can chant the campaign songs again, at the top of their lungs like before. Joshua restates his dedication to the Fashola brand, insisting that even if there are fresh elections, he will still support Fashola. Ini asks- ‘What if Fashola turns out to be a bad person…will you still support him?’ ‘God forbid,’ says Joshua. Timi, precocious kid that he is, extols Agbaje’s virtues at one hundred words per second and gets Ini’s affirmation on each point. Then the conversation takes an interesting direction.

Joshua wonders aloud what it would be like if Superman became President and Wonder Woman was first lady (and the Justice League were in charge of the senate – I thought to myself). Ini seems to prefer the idea of Batman being president, Timi has his own preference as well but all agree that the crime rate would drop if their favourite super hero ruled the country. They said a lot more, but my mind wondered at this point. The profundity of the scenario struck me, here were these boys wishing that comic book characters of American citizenship would come and rule their country. Let’s not focus on the complexity of their politics but on the vibrancy of their imagination…the sort of imagination that knows no barriers and can only be nurtured in the world of comic book fiction and its younger cousin- the world of animated movies, where absolutely anything is possible.

Comic books and animated movies are potent tools for instilling age old virtues like courage, patriotism, selflessness, friendship, and civic responsibility. But they go beyond that, they chronicle the travails of man over different time frames, they plumb the political depths of different generations and they dare to predict where our abilities in science and technology and our deficiencies as social animals could lead us in the near future. Even the most ardent comic book follower is likely to limit the history of the art form to the 1930s when modern comics as we know them today were first published starting with the Superman series that was first published as a newspaper strip in 1939 forgetting that the art form had actually been under development for centuries, starting with the Egyptian hieroglyphics and Greek and Roman frescoes of yore.

The modern American comic books took good cognisance of the politics of their time and the characters tackled real issues even if against a backdrop of science and fantasy. That is why young Americans could read about a Superman who could fly but then had to worry about coping with the exerting demands on his abilities by the very same people he sought to protect, or a Captain America who encapsulated the quintessential American soldier and hero and captured the imagination of several generations of Americans amongst many other examples.

It’s most ironic therefore that young Nigerian boys in 2007 will look to American (fictional) Super heroes to take their country out of the woods while their own culture is actually steeped with heroes and legends of comparable strengths and socio-political relevance to their American counterparts. The tragedy is that they don’t know it. They are not exposed to the ancient carvings, poems, chants, and folklore which have codified these legends, and even if they were, they’d be hard pressed to decode them.

Enter the modern day Nigerian comics. It has been a great pleasure to interact with some of the brightest minds in this country who have been at the forefront of the development of a new awareness for comic books in the country but not of the American ilk, we are talking about Nigerian comic books here. They are not new to us…

Sewedo Nupowaku of Revolution Media insists at every opportunity that Wale Adenuga’s widely acclaimed Super Story television series had first debuted in Nigeria as a comic book series in the 80s. He usually extols in the same breathe, the names of great Nigerian cartoonists like Cliff Oguigo and Boye Gbenro who had done great work in the past, paving the way for the likes of Kaycee, Leke Moses, D.D. Onu, amongst many others who now hold fort. In an attempt at keeping that sort of history from being forgotten it seems, Nupowaku’s organisation is collaborating with other enthusiasts like Imperial Creation Studios, Design Jockey Sessions, Children and The Environment, Cartoonists Association of Nigeria and Pandora Comics under the platform of the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) organised 9th Lagos Book & Art Festival to stage the third edition of their annual Lagos Comics & Cartoons Carnival (from Friday 9th – Sunday 11th November 2007 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos) which sets out to raise the awareness and sensitivity of the public (especially the youths) towards the vast field of cartoons, comics and animation creation and publishing while adding a boost to the nation’s reading and entertainment culture. The event is set to be a convention of sorts involving an exhibition of works of leading comic book, cartoons and animation producers in the country, workshops on cartoon creation and animation for children and young adults and opportunities for networking between talented young people and the industry leaders who require their talents.

Even more heartwarming to Nupowaku is the fact that Pandora Comics, one of the leading comic book publishers in the country is going one step further this year in supporting the effort with some well needed funds. According to Sunkanmi Akinboye who is Art Director at Pandora Comics, their journey began in early 2002, when a group of young enterprising artists were brought together by Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin to fulfill a collective dream; to produce a comic book that would rival the biggest and the best of comic books. ‘There was no doubt it could be done.’ Five years down the line, it is being done in style. Pandora Comics have three titles under their belt which will be introduced to the public at the Lagos Comics & Cartoons Carnival.

As my mind wonders back to the chattering young guns on the back seat, I smile to myself that Joshua, Timi and Ini might have to change their minds about importing American super-heroes to set the country right. Three days mixing with the creators of authentic Nigerian Super-Heroes at the 3rd Lagos Comics & Cartoons Carnival should do the trick, if that fails then the Justice League (of American Super-heroes) could very well become our representatives at the Nigerian Senate….now imagine if a bunch of Super-Heroes with powers untold resort to fisticuffs over some misappropriated funds on national television??? As Joshua would say…God forbid!

Culled from The Guardian Life of October 28, 2008.