By Wole Soyinka

UNESCO – spelt United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation – is easily the most prominent of the prestigious organizations affiliated to the United Nations. Its achievements – from rescuing and protecting the world’s cultural sites and monuments, sometimes involving breathtaking feats of engineering – promoting environmental sanity throughout the world, giving pride of place to the ‘intangible heritage’ of indigenous peoples as valid contribution to world civilisation etc etc - these have made UNESCO a beacon of hope in humanity’s struggle to achieve itself. They remind societies of their capability to overcome and even anticipate natural disasters, the ravages of strictly profit motivated enterprises, not forgetting rulership contempt for the voiceless. Most important however, and basic to its very reason for existence, is UNESCO’s mission of fostering the consciousness of peace in the human mind, in spite of a historic propensity for war and destruction. As with all high-profile organisations, it has earned operational criticisms here and there, some deservedly. Nonetheless, most will agree that the world would be much culturally poorer, more philistinic in attitudes and national policies without the achievements that have made that organization a household word.

It is important therefore that the image of UNESCO be not diminished by a failure of vigilance, especially when it is recollected that its national collaborators, and even, sometimes, its own civil servants are creatures of political leaders to whom primary allegiance is thereby owed, even over and above the prospect of career preferments within a presumably independent organization. Some may genuinely identify with the lofty aims of UNESCO, but find that their very survival is best served by turning a blind eye on the manipulations, pressures and intrigues of their home governments. The larger and, ironically, the more mission-focused an organisation, the wider the mesh for the passage of infected loyalties. UNESCO cannot hope to escape that bind any more than other international bodies. The watchdog function then devolves on those for whom the integrity of the organ is crucial to their own functions as producers and partakers of that commodity called – Culture.

And now we come to the contributive role of such people, those whose very activities humanize the institutional face of UNESCO and render it palpable across national borders and social strata. Culture does not reside in what is written and debated about it, but in the very contributions of individuals, national institutions, societies and voluntary organisations. We need not go too far from our own terrain to identify such people, so let us point straightaway to a figure who must be counted as one of the most enduring expressions of cultural dialogue at its most disinterested and stimulating. I have in mind the legendary Suzanne Wenger, sculptor, animator and spiritual quester in a land that she embraced intuitively, and cherished. It was this woman, now in her eighties, who transformed one the most celebrated Nature reserves, Osun grove, into a space of creativity even while preserving its spiritual serenity. Even as this is being written, a two dozen strong delegation of her admirers, collaborators and culture lovers from Nigeria are converging on the Quai Branly museum in Paris, where a symposium – including a film - of her life and work in a transformed and – for her – transforming environment, will be held. It is certain that one or two among them will make a pitch for what, on many levels, can be rightly described as a ‘sister institution’ to Susan Wenger’s Osun, a site that has entered UNESCO’s directory as a World Heritage site.

And the ‘sister institution’? Together with her spouse at the time, Ulli Beier, Suzanne Wenger inspired the Oshogbo artistic movement whose members have earned recognition throughout the world. Ulli Beier, in his own right, was also an assiduous promoter of Yoruba culture, an archivist whose collection on many cultural facets both of the Yoruba, and of Papua New Guinea where he also sojourned and taught for a number of years, became a coveted acquisition for many institutions. Photographs, films, videos, lithographs, tapes, manuscripts, artifacts etc. etc - these testaments to a lifelong cultural passion run into tens of thousands. It is a collection that would enhance the work of UNESCO, both for periodic exhibitions and as base material for academic and cultural studies. It is right and proper that UNESCO should be associated with genuine efforts to retain, catalogue and preserve this material for posterity.

That a cultural centre, based in Osun state whose capital, Oshogbo, played host to Georgina and Ulli Beier, as well as Suzanne Wenger, for decades, should be created even for the sole purpose of the preservation of these archives is not in question. It is a good feeling to be able to salute a state government that takes the initiative in such matters, especially for those of us who were involved, at some stage or the other, in finding a home for the collection. Osun’s is an example that must be recommended to other states for emulation.

Thus it is with sadness and a sense of frustration that one must admit to a sour note, a fly in the ointment of such a worthy enterprise. This appears to be the unnatural condition of so many laudable Nigerian undertakings. Let me proceed by referring to the United States, which is perhaps the most prominent nation in the tradition of presidential libraries. It would be correct to claim that the US is thus also dedicated to a certain form of archival mission, but certainly not one that that nation, or any other with a similar agenda of record keeping for political leaders, has ever dared substitute for, or camouflage under the rubric of Culture, or Cultural heritage. Nigeria however, is nothing if not unique. Originality is not to be decried in the field of culture; it is however stretching the elasticity of the cultural field over and beyond its legitimate purlieu when an attempt is made to smuggle the private, fledgling Presidential Library of an ex-ruler into the cultural trove of UNESCO. that is, as an entity within the same cultural parameters and value as Susanne Wenger’s Osun Grove or Ulli Beier’s life collection.

Incredible as it may sound, this is precisely what is in the offing under the nation’s very nose, an elaborate deception that began in the dying days of the last presidency. A culturally empty husk, conceived in delusion, midwifed by extortion and weaned in a laundry basket is already halfway through the eye of UNESCO’s discriminating needle. For those who need to be reminded of the spectacle, the so-called Presidential Library, whose hoarding dominates the approach into the capital of Ogun state, was funded through an extortionist exercise that was brazenly contemptuous, even by Nigerian standards. That, however is another issue, and will undoubtedly be remedially addressed in good time. What concerns us immediately, that is, we labourers in the field of culture, is that this uncultured accretion on the national landscape is being sneaked into a pantheon of cultural acquisitions through secret machinations that began some eight months ago. The nation – and UNESCO – are close to being presented with a fait accompli.

How was this brought about? What precisely is the nature of this new organism into whose web UNESCO, as well as genuine cultural servitors such as Ulli Beier have been drawn? That body is known – to its select circle – as The CENTRE for BLACK CULTURE AND INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING. Now who could possibly fault such a lofty prospectus? Certainly not I. And certainly not when, along the way, the name of a new foundation, known as the Ulli and Georgina Beier Foundation becomes associated - indeed is being intertwined - with the original concept of the Centre.

The project, that began straightforwardly as The Centre for Black Cultural Heritage has been undergoing several convolutions, all designed to launder a dubious presidential library project into the prestigious authority of UNESCO. In the letter of appointment for members of its board, dated 30^th July 2007 we encounter the following project description:

“The Centre which is been (sic) estavblished as a UNESCO Category II institute would have working and collaborative arrangements with the Olusegun Obasanjo Library, Abeokuta and the relevant institutes in Universities of Osogbo, Ibadan, and Ile-Ife”

This of course prompts the question: does the Olusegun Obasanjo Library enjoy the same intellectual and cultural status as the Universities of Oshogbo, Ibadan and Ile-Ife, or indeed any other university in the world? As a resource place for students of governance, political science, international affairs – eventually – maybe. However – Black Culture? Or indeed European, Asian, or Australasian culture? The yoking together of these two pursuits is not accidental – we shall see that in a moment. Of course a knowledge and/or pursuit of Culture can induce international understanding, but that such a well of wisdom will be found in a presidential library complex? If that miracle did come to pass, since when has its adoption formed part of the UNESCO tradition? If a precedent must be set, I believe we can all run off a dozen or so names, including from within our own African continent, whose claims would be far worthier.

We come now however to the critical document, a Memorandum of Understanding that provides us the full picture of a Cultural 419 on the international level. That MOU signed by Obasanjo’s last Minister of Culture, Professor Borisade is between the Federal government of Nigeria on the one hand, and the two cultural producers – Ulli and Georgina Beier, of Sydney Austrlia on the other. It may be worth noting that the letter of appointment to the Governing Board, dated 30^th July, 2007, was signed by Prince Oyinlola, governor of Osun state, after Olusegun Obasanjo had left office. The Memorandum of Understanding states clearly that its subject was the transfer of the Beier archives to a “Newly to be Created Ulli an d Georgina Beier Centre as Part of an Institute for Black Culture and International Understanding”. In view of the nomenclatural acrobatics that dot the actual articles of the MOU, that last item of information is worth noting.

The composition of the Board for this new Institute is embedded in the MOU of 10^th May 2007, as signed by Professor Borishade, Minister of Culture.

Article 16 (AGREEMENT):

The Centre shall have an independent Board of Governors, assuring the respectability of the Centre. It shall consist of Prince Oyinlola (in his personal capacity) – emphasis mine - Dr. Wole Ogundele (Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife) Dr. Sola Akinrinade (Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University), Prof. Michael Omolewa, and a non-government member to be nominated by H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo….”

The Memorandum of Understanding, as already indicated, was signed by the Minister of Culture, thus making this acquisition project a national undertaking. To buttress the point, Article 11 (AGREEMENT) states that:

“Ulli and Georgina Beier agree to transfer the title and ownership of all items in their archive of Yoruba, other Nigerian and Papua New Guinea and other cultures and arts to the new Centre – as detailed in the new detailed listing attached to this Memorandum - against a payment BY THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA……” (emphasis mine)

And just to leave no doubt whatsoever as to who is the paying all bills, Article 22 (AGREEMENT) declares:

”The Government of Nigeria, with the eventual assistance of UNESCO, will arrange and pay for the transport of the Beier archives from Sydney to Nigeria…”

That is as it should be. Nigeria is lucky to have beaten all competitors for the Beier archives. It is money well spent. The situation however then proceeds through a few twists. At first, the swings and turns could be interpreted as being ploys in which it was the government of Osun State that was about to appropriate what was being charged to the National Treasury. The following paragraphs soon disabuse our minds, bringing us squarely against a familiar trademark of the past regime – privatization.

Article 5 (BACKGROUND):

“Subsequently, President Obasansjo requested Prof Borisade, Prof Omolewa, and Mr. d’Orville to explore and negotiate with Mr. and Mrs. Beier the terms and arrangements of a transfer of his archives from Sydney to a newly to be created centre in Oshogbo, Nigeria as an integral part of a new Institute for Black Culture and International Understanding being established under UNESCO’s auspices AS the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library!!! (exclamations mine).

Easily observed here is that The Ulli and Georgina Beier Cultural centre has metamorphosed into the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library, under UNESCO’s auspices, and for the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, Article 8 (AGREEMENTS) further declares:

“The Centre shall become part of the Institute for Black Culture and International Understanding (hereafter, The Institute), which is being established as a UNESCO Category II institute the Olusegun Obasanjo Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State”

That section, a masterpiece of confusion, obviously suffers from some missing punctuations. It has been reproduced exactly as in the MOU, but the proposition is without the slightest ambiguity.

My sympathies, Prince Oyinlola, if you thought that you had made an acquisition for Osun State, albeit with Federal funds. Oshogbo has turned into Abeokuta, the Black Cultural Centre into the Obasanjo Presidential Library! Anyone reading this document from beginning to end cannot fail to be stuck by the confusions and contradictions in a number of paragraphs, but it is clear what the purpose is: to throw up smokescreens and thoroughly bemuse the casual reader. The Head of an outgoing government, less than three weeks to departure, personally initiates and authorizes an agreement that costs the nation an undisclosed amount for an acquisition. That acquisition then ends up as his private project, on his private estate. This is what the Memorandum of Understanding of 10 May 2007 is all about. Its very messiness, repetitiveness and name substitutions, its confusing syntax – all bearing the hallmarks of an unseemly rush, are a perfect giveaway.

What next? Since the Borisade/Beier MOU calls for the repatriation of Ulli Beier’s archives to Nigeria by October 2007, the first question has to be - where is that collection at this moment? If indeed in Nigeria, is it in Oshogbo? In Abeokuta? Or in that newly to be created centre in virtual space that changes location in nearly every paragraph?

The mind boggles at the thought of UNESCO finding itself in – shall we say? - a situation where, in the process of acquiring the papers and other archival material of the Romanian poet Mihail Eminescu, the organisation is manipulated, through a series of substitutions of names for the recipient institutions - all ‘newly to be created’ of course – and ends up saddled with the Presidential Library of Nicolae Caescescu as an addition to its catalogue of World Heritage.

Actually, that fantasy has a history. When I visited Romania many years ago, soon after the overthrow of Nicolae Caescescu, I was taken round on a tour of that dictator’s extravagant testament to the affliction of folie de grandeur, the Grand Palace that was built virtually on slave labour, the deluded ruler’s wish to replicate Versailles, only several times more opulent. The question was put before me – what do we do with this monstrosity? It bankrupted the nation, ate up lives and money, and simply trying to maintain it is eating up what’s left.

My response was – internationalize the White Elephant. Turn it into a tourist attraction. Since his would-be Nigerian counterpart is so anxious to turn ‘legacy’ into an international attraction, I suggest that the nation come to his aid – it was built, after all on the people’s money, extorted through parastatals, private business, corporations, and state governments. So, let us put an end to this agony and close all avenues to the laundry machine. We internationalize the establishment; turn it into a tourist attraction. Indeed, that visit to Romania having taken place towards the tail-end of Abacha’s regime, I promised our own fair share of contributions for the Display Gallery. Mind you, I did not fail to advise the Romanians also that, like a crowd-pulling theme park, Caescescu’s palace should have a theme, and suggested the obvious ‘Grand Palais of Dictatorship Horrors’. In our own case, to restore the title where it rightly belongs and take the pressure off UNESCO, concerned as one must be for accuracy in job description, history of origin, planned hotelier services and other ‘cultural’ functions - we could do worse than settle for – ‘The Presidential Laudromat’.

Soyinka is Goodwill Ambassador to UNESCO