COMMONWEALTH CREATIVE ARTIST, NIGERIA, LIVINUS OTTEH LAUDS BRITISH COUNCIL AND COMMONWEALTH OVER PROGRAMME. .... Says The Project Is A Part Of The Commonwealth Games Programme Aims At Providing Educational Opportunities For Young People In Schools Across The Commonwealth.

Livinus Otteh

"The essence of this event, is to provide these children the opportunity of knowing the culture and ways of other countries within the Commonwealth, especially as it relates to climate change." Otteh.

"Many of these pupils were going on stage for the first time and, in all honesty, exhibited great mastery of the stage and performed creditably.

In pursuit of developing a stronger and virile educational base for our younger generation, especially for children in our primary schools across the country by the British Council and its teeming support partners, a programme tagged "Commonwealth Connection" aimed at promoting unity and creating the needed platform for youths to achieve their full potentials, was recently, concluded in Abuja, Nigeria.

Commonwealth Creative Artist, Nigeria, Mr. Livinus Otteh, while speaking with NaijNewsAlert.Com, revealed that the project is a part of the Commonwealth Games programme popularly known as Commonwealth Connection which aims at providing educational opportunities for young people in schools across the commonwealth.

He stressed that it would enable the youths to learn together and develop deeper knowledge and understanding of the commonwealth and its values, thus, allowing young people to feel more ownership and ability to shape their communities.

According to Livinus Otteh, "the Commonwealth Connection Performance event is funded by Common Wealth Games organizing Committee and British Council.

The theme for this year is, “The Earth; Our Home, Working Together For An Adaptable And Transformative Ecosystem,” aims at x-raying the causes of climate change, the impact of its devastation and the solutions thereof.     

Reacting to how selections of partners were made, Mr. Otteh disclosed that the British Council sent out tenders to all the producers that they work with, to put in applications. At the end of the exercise, he emerged as the "Commonwealth Creative Artist for Nigeria", while Video Waves International became the company to deliver the project in Nigeria.

"For the project, you can call it CommonWealth Performance Event but its major name is CommonWealth Connections, as it includes sporting activities and much more," the prolific movie producer and director stated.

"The whole idea is to give opportunity to pupils and students to  exchange ideas on arts with those in the UK and other Commonwealth countries."

Otteh further revealed that he was selected as the Creative Artist for Nigeria and the programme was to run for a period of about two months but could not get the opportunity to fully utilize the period slated.

With Video Waves International, as the company saddled with the responsibility of artistic input in the project, after several workshops, came up with three poems; "A Choice We Must Make", Written by Livinus Otteh, "Remember Climate Change," By Habib Abodunrin Zakary and lastly, "Butterfly" which was written by Abba Hezekiah Iliya.

"The poems are based on the noble intentions of this year’s theme, with special emphasis on the performance environments, namely; Jos, Lagos and Abuja," Otteh noted.

On the poem, Climate Change, the commonwealth artistic director opined that, "Lagos, being one of the economic hubs of Nigeria, has its own fair share when it comes climate change and so, we took time to infuse its peculiar challenges."   

On the performances, he stated that first, there was the rehearsals phase that required him visiting the participating schools in order to get firsthand information on all they had done and then, introduce other activities that would enable them beef up all they had done in the period past so that their presentations become acceptable to the organizers. These visitations saw him travelling to Jos, Lagos and the federal capital territory, Abuja.

Otteh, while recounting his trips across the core areas, divulged that the finale of the event, which took him back to Abuja, was a memorable one as he saw the participating pupils and students, looking excited alongside their parents and guardians. The team from the British Council, including the invited community heads and leaders of the various villages, all had a great viewing experience.

On the possible impact of the Commonwealth connections on the students and pupils that took part in the programme, Livinus Otteh said; “the essence of this event, is to provide these children the opportunity of knowing the culture and ways of other countries within the Commonwealth, especially as it relates to climate change."

"These new experiences will afford them the chance of taking appropriate actions over certain happenings around them. Being unable to do this, may result in their inability to enjoy the earth and its abundant blessings.

"Most of us are getting older by the day but, as children, there are still years ahead of them to fully grasp the gains and the dangers inherent in emissions. During the programme itself, the participating children were able to learn regarding climate change and, the do’s and don’ts. Solutions were proffered as to likely challenges that may erupt in the nearest future but, in all of these, that the earth itself remains a habitable place for them to live in.

"Many of these pupils were going on stage for the first time and, in all honesty, exhibited great mastery of the stage and performed creditably under my guide. I was impressed. I was very happy seeing them exhibiting artistic skills." Otteh stated.