A Tale of Fear and Freedom: Visual Diary of An Embattled Jos Artist

Ernest Agoba, a professor and artist from Jos, Nigeria, has recently concluded an art exhibition aptly titled “The Shadows That Follow Me”. This exhibition, at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, featured a collection of shadow images inspired by the artist’s personal experience.

According to Ernest Agoba, he had to present this exhibition in Transcorp to avoid what transpired in his previous art exhibition done in an unsecured environment and set ablaze by those he calls his enemies.
Professor Agoba claims he is being pursued by a faceless group of people he may have inadvertently offended from either his political and religious utterances or from the visual metaphors in his art.

He is equally irked by the fact that there is no one to whom he could run to for protection except God. According to his claim, every attempt he made to report his predicaments to the police appeared to have worsened matters for him.

In his opinion, he was certain that a number of those you will be reporting such matters to may be accomplices that would turn around to betray you.

Agoba’s previous exhibition criticized the terrorist herdsmen and their sponsors as well as the leadership in Nigeria. While having a chat with the professor and artist, he was reported to have used such words as “Shameless”, “Gangster Leaders”, and “Dream Killers” in qualifying the leadership of Nigeria and the Muslim terrorists that have brought untold hardship to Nigerians.

Ernest Agoba’s new exhibition, running from the 2nd of May, 2022 to the 14th of May, 2022, is a product of palpable fear generated from his last experience.

As a fallout from the last unfortunate incidence in Jos, Agoba went into hiding “as he sees shadows everywhere he goes”. His absence from the exhibition attests to this as we could only establish a telephone conversation with him.

According to Agoba, “My mind is now occupied with the thought of freedom, not only for the victims of terrorism in Nigeria but also for myself that appears to have suddenly become a target”.

Ernest Agoba’s exhibition poses the question of whether an artist’s works, directed at critiquing people, really matter, in comparison with criticisms in newspapers and television.

Agoba’s experience has led him to reflect on whether he should have been less direct or more tacit in his approach. He wonders if being tacit as a painter would create any discernible impact in a society that has become more deleterious and egregious in its onslaught.

Despite the fear of the shadows that follow him, Agoba basks in the freedom that truth offers. He vows to face his fears rather than resigning himself to faith.