The Vice Chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Prof. Samuel Ogheneovo Asagba, has praised Rev’d Canon Prof. Uyoyou Nelson Oghenefejiro Edewor for deploying the ivri corpus of his sculptural works to reflect the realities of the Niger Delta and the Nigerian society at large.
Asagba spoke on Thursday at the 119th inaugural lecture of the university, held at the 750 Lecture Theatre A, Site III, where he described Edewor’s works as a powerful artistic mirror of the suffering, resilience and contradictions of life in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
The Vice Chancellor used the occasion to lament that many priceless African artistic treasures remain trapped in Western museums, stressing the urgent need for their repatriation and restitution.
He commended the inaugural lecturer for using art as a tool to interrogate the pains of the Niger Delta people, noting that Edewor’s body of work had carved for him a rare and exceptional niche in Fine and Applied Arts practice.
From the breadth, depth and themes of his sculptures, Asagba said Edewor had distinguished himself as an artist whose works transcend aesthetics to engage history, society and conscience.
In his lecture titled “Where God and Mortals Meet: Nelson Edewor’s Odyssey of Recontextualised Ivri Corpus in a Nation Soiled in Oil,” Prof. Edewor argued that art is both human and divine.
The Professor of Sculpture and Arts History traced the divinity of art to Exodus 31:1–6, where God endowed Bezalel and Oholiab with creative abilities, and to ancient Greek and Roman traditions in which, according to Socrates, artists channelled forces beyond themselves.
He explained that his ivri corpus, largely expressed through wood carvings, symbolises the paradox of peace and prosperity sitting atop a raging beast, adding that controlling aggression is key to mental well-being, wealth creation and sustainable development.
Edewor said his artistic odyssey was rooted in the modern ivri, which he uses to express the suffering, violence and dashed hopes of the Niger Delta people since the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri about 70 years ago.
According to him, rather than prosperity, oil exploration has brought pollution, hunger, repression of dissent and death to the region.
He called on government and relevant stakeholders to urgently improve the living conditions of the people of the Niger Delta.
Highlights of the lecture included the decoration of Prof. Edewor with DELSU’s prestigious inaugural lecturers’ medal by the Vice Chancellor, musical performances by the Department of Music, photo sessions, and a cocktail reception hosted by the Vice Chancellor.
Dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of DELSU Governing Council, Gen. Alexander Ogomudia (retd.); former Vice Chancellors, Prof. Eric Arubayi and Prof. Victor Peretomode; Anglican bishops from Warri, Oleh and Ozoro dioceses; traditional rulers; rectors of sister institutions; senior university officials, academics, clergy, students, and family members of the inaugural lecturer, including his wife, Dr (Mrs) Akpezi Okiemute Edewor.
