By Okoh Aihe

OUR dear friend, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, went on a long journey last week, and she is not likely to be back soon. No, not ever. She has gone the way of all mortals, leaving behind a gamut of works packed into her short life span to speak for her in a most voluble way.

Hers is a life that nobody forgets; her journey lingers in memory, sweetly, like the aftertaste of black soup washed down with generously cold water after a sumptuous evening meal. That residual sweetness resonates with a good life and sweetness, which a chance encounter with Peace has the potential to ignite and keep burning. 

With Peace, life sparks light and rippling ideas, like a particular night in Finland when the sun does not go down at all. Do you prefer to call it Nightless Night, the Midnight Sun, or even Polar Day? Nature shows another face one day to keep humans delirious for 24 hours in bright sunshine, like Peace and her pot of ideas.

Circumlocution can be a way of burying pain, my dear, just look for fitting words to mask a void. Peace’s departure exacerbated a void left by revered filmmaker Amaka Igwe, who died in April 2014. They were two Amazons who bonded to promote a nascent industry from different ends, and they made strong impressions and left indelible imprints all over for the discerning to behold as clear paths into the future. 

Peace had boldness mixed with smartness and was formidably built to fly the industry flag beyond the confines of our nation. I didn’t always know Peace. But one night in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, she premiered a documentary on Bayelsa State, the home of Oloibiri, the first location crude oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956.

This was at AFRICAST, the flagship event of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, which used to gather broadcasters from Africa and beyond in Abuja every two years until the arrival of this administration. I remember that night very well.

There was outrage. Hardly anybody in the audience agreed with her interpretation of the state in that documentary. Harsh words came in torrents for Peace but her peace was hardly impaired. She had a smile for every criticism, and she had a thick skin to deflect very hurtful adjectives. 

“We can always do another cut and voice it all over again,” she said with a stubborn smile. It was the beginning of her climb, a paradigm of one who would stoop to conquer. She was just beginning to reach the world, and she got there in no time. Earlier on we were on a couple of trips to South Africa, at Sithengi in Cape Town, which was one of the pioneer spots where she began marketing her ideas internationally. She was an industry ambassador extraordinaire, and she made no apologies for her unwavering faith in an industry that would completely surprise the world. Nobody can diminish her contributions in this respect.  

Only a few people will have the idea of what it takes to start and fund a film industry academy award and find a place for it in the global calendar of entertainment events. Before starting the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, Peace traversed the world’s film festivals, especially the Cannes Film Festival, where she would secure a night to host a party and draw global attention to her creative octopus that was springing out of a beautiful embryo.

It was, therefore, very elevating when a friend conversant with the global film circuit asked about Peace in a faraway land. Peace from Nigeria. Who are you? She must be very powerful to attract some big-name celebrities to her party in Cannes. I had a suppressed laugh. What Peace wants, Peace gets because she is so focused and determined to achieve her goals.

She put together a jury comprising a constellation of movie personalities, which included: Keith Shiri, Steve Ayorinde (chair of the Jury, who, in those days, was arguably the most prominent Nigerian journalist at the Cannes Film Festival), Shuabu Hussein, Bernie Goldblat, Asantewa Olatunji, June Givianni, Dorothee Wenner, Ayoku Babu, Ambassador Savadego Phillip, John Akomfrah, Charles Burnett, and Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi.

The 13th member, Amaka Igwe, took an early exit for a protracted but well-deserved rest. It was a good cast by all standards, and they did their job with relish. AMAA was a major hit ab initio. Luckily, she found the ears of the authorities in Bayelsa State, who gave impetus to her ideas.

It was always a carnival, as the entertainment world with all its stars visited Bayelsa once a year. In one of those awards, Cuba Gooding Jr. of Boyz n the Hood fame and Oscar winner with Jerry McGuire was in attendance. There was hardly a better opportunity to market a very small state that would one day produce a president for Nigeria in the person of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. 

Lagos State trailed Bayelsa in domesticating AMAA, and the environment has not just been appropriate but lavish and stupendously inviting, with the right hotel picks and locations to boost the egos of movie super stars, a percentage of whom love to walk with their heads in the wind. From the Federal Government to her home state, Imo, other state governments, professional colleagues, and other professions, tributes are pouring in for Peace.

She deserves them all without demanding them. She earned all the plaudits and should be proud to wear a garland on her way home. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described Peace as “a legend, a strong and positive force in the nation’s creative industry”. He appealed passionately that her AMAA dream should not be allowed to die.  

But I particularly love the submissions of Rita Dominic and Ramsey Nouah. For Rita: “We have lost an enigma, an icon, a trailblazer. We have lost a sister. We have lost the founder and director of the Africa Movie Academy Award; it is so difficult to say goodbye.” A pained Ramsey said: “I wish that maybe it’s all a nightmare I will wake up from. You had plans. There were so many heights to reach, so many grounds to break, and so many destinies waiting to take flight on the wings of your platform.

Life really is fleeting.” The truth is that so many destinies have already been made on the AMAA platform. Peace was a star of sorts. Sometimes, it is not always about the movie but about finding the right platform for the movie to gain traction and explode. She provided a platform for industry players to shine, from the super star to the little supernumerary who is looking for a place under the sun. Peace gilded them and gave them a voice. 

I am happy to read that the family has promised to sustain her legacy. That is great news to hear, as her memory deserves every encouragement. Peace was more than an industry awards organiser. The industry needed her intellect, boldness, and determination to put a leg through the door in pursuit of a broad vision, and she was not selfish in offering all three. She was more than an industry impresario; she was also its ambassador. Fortunately, Peace has left us with enough work to last us a lifetime. She merits her place among the stars, and may her memory remain a blessing.