By Dike Chukwumerije.
Abuja (Precise Post) – Dike Chukwumerije’s show – ‘Made in Nigeria’ holds at Wole Soyinka Theatre, University of Ibadan on Saturday, 29th January, 2022.
He disclosed this on Saturday via his Facebook page in his poetic mannerism this:
The first time I travelled with my show was in December 2016. Someone who had seen the show in Abuja had called me to say, ‘You must take it to Lagos’. This was all he said. No pointers. No offer to help. No contacts. Just – ‘You must take it to Lagos’. And, yes, this is how it is in Life, sometimes. That, sometimes, the only role someone comes into your life to play is to tell you what your next step must be, and – maybe – give you the confidence to take it. And, for this, I am grateful.
But I was nervous, very nervous. And full of fear. Not only was I going to a different city, but I was taking over 20 people with me. You see? There is always the danger of travel in a developing country like ours. Always, one holds one’s breath. Even more, at the helm of affairs, I was alone. You see? I had no support outside, of course, of Family. For, should anything go wrong, it is always Family that is left to pick up the pieces. This is why you must never neglect them in life who will never stop mourning you in death.
This is how I went to Lagos in 2016. And this is how I am going to Ibadan two weeks from today. You see? In the intervening years, I have made trips like this 13 times, with cast and crew in tow, and heart in hand. So far, we have travelled by road, we have travelled by air, and we have travelled by rail. Taking one show to audiences in different parts of the country. One show. The same production, the same cast, the same poems, the same words – over and over and over again. Because in today’s world, dominated as it is by chasing trends, it is easy to forget that the capacity to stay on one thing till it is done is still very important.
On 2 of those 13 trips – to Maiduguri and Yola – I had sponsorship. And, yes, it made those trips a lot easier for me. For normally, I would save up for months. Because beyond food and shelter, basic clothing and transportation, and the non-negotiable welfare of my family, I have very little needs. True. It is not my genius at making money that has helped me so far, but my genius at saving it. So, sometimes, in a year, I would go only once. For respect for the spreadsheet, and the basic principle that expenditure should not exceed income, is the beginning of financial wisdom. And without wisdom (not knowledge, not talent) there will never be lasting results.
So, I am grateful to the Yar’Adua Foundation for providing the funds I need for my next 6 trips. Without it, it would have taken me 3 years – at an average of two trips a year – to save up the money to do, in a financially sustainable way, what – by the grace of God – I am about to do in 6 months. Yes, that is how Life is sometimes.
That, sometimes, after 7 lean years come 7 fat ones. So that, in time, you learn to trust in the Eternal Cycle – sowing and reaping, sunrise and sunset, birth and death, over and over and over again. So that when you are up, you are not proud, for you know, for sure, you will come down. And when you are down, you are not without hope, for you know, without doubt that, one day, you will rise.
Like this, I am going to Ibadan with a message I believe in with all of my heart. That Nigeria is no longer a mere geographical expression. For it is now possible for so many to say what very few could have honestly said 62 years ago – that ‘my roots are those people that kept me alive, and my roots are those places that helped me to thrive, but those people and places are scattered all over this country, so that the only thing I am really sure of when it comes to my identity, is that I was made in Nigeria’. If you share my faith, or would like to, then come on this journey with me. It is a journey of faith. For, in truth, where it ends, I do not know. But always, always, I go.
Date: Sat. 29 Jan 2022
Time: 5pm
Venue: Wole Soyinka Theatre, University of Ibadan
