With everything going on in the country, initiatives like this, peace through art indeed matter. Sola Ola Makinde in an interview with Ireho Aito

It didn t take him too long to start admiring the collections hanging on the wall and at the same time exchanging warm pleasantries in his white outfit. He found himself in a perfect space at the right time, seriously engaging the Biodun Omolayo and trying to give his own critique of the works.

While trying to close up with him, holding his glass of water and flipping through the list, he nods his head to affirm again that Biodun Omolayo’s collections are thought provoking. The artworks spark conversations at the moment.

“In a world where headlines scream division and confusion, there are still places you can walk into and feel something different like peace, like purpose, says Sola Ola Makinde at Path to Peace and Restoration exhibition in Lagos.

Sola Ola Makinde is a businessman, art collector, gallery owner, trainer, and newly-minted real estate explorer who believes these great artworks hold the keys to something Nigeria desperately needs now, restoration.

“I’m refreshed just being here,” he says, seated among canvases that pulse with colour and intent also informing Biodun Omolayo what he needs now to show some collectors who rely on his critique. “With everything going on in the country, initiatives like this, peace through art indeed matter. They are very vital, he submits.

With everything going on in the country, initiatives like this, peace through art indeed matter.

Sola Ola Makinde’s connection to art runs deep, and his perspective is thoroughbred. As he likes appreciating artworks, he is also shaping minds. As someone who straddles the worlds of commerce, culture, and education, he sees art as more than aesthetic, for him, it’s activism.

“Art should communicate. It should educate. It should entertain,” he says with quiet conviction. “And when you use it right, it becomes a mirror to society.”

Art should communicate. It should educate. It should entertain

That mirror, he explains, reflects not only who we are but who we can become. He lay emphasis in his argument by using Nollywood’s growing global reach to the vibrant pulse of Nigerian poetry and dance, he sees a shift, one where African creatives can reclaim the narrative and redefine perceptions. “We are telling our stories now. And the world is listening,” he affirms.

He points to a nearby painting that is rich with blended hues and raw emotion. “Look at what Biodun Omolayo has done,” he says. “Beyond the colours, there is a message. There is unity. There is healing,” he concludes

But it’s not all roses and framed revolutions. Sola Ola Makinde, acknowledges there is still a long road ahead. “We are not where we should be,” he admits, “but we are no longer where we used to be.”

And that’s the crux of it, progress, one step at a time.

In a country grappling with unrest, Sola Ola Makinde believes artists are not just reflecting society. They are shaping the society’s next chapter.

Words/Ireho Aito for iBAND Magazine/Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!