Anytime you pay a visit to Ovuomaroro Gallery in Mushin, Lagos, one thing will surely amaze you and that is the quality of work and the extraordinary dignity in labour that greets every visitor the moment they step into the premises.
Artworks are everywhere. From the gates to the corridors, from every room to every corner, there is an unmistakable energy of hard work in the atmosphere. Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya has carefully built that environment for creative excellence through years of discipline, dedication and the leadership of a diligent team committed to artistic growth.

So, on this edition of Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!, iBAND Magazine reflects on Workers’ Day through the enduring artistic vision of Bruce Onobrakpeya and the tribute shared by Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation and Ovuomaroro Gallery using his iconic print Farmer and Wife. Beyond its striking imagery, the artwork opens a wider conversation about labour, agriculture, resilience, women and the enduring spirit of nation-building in Nigeria.

Words Ireho Aito | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger! Artwork Farmer and Wife Bruce Onobrakpeya Black Print 2017 courtesy of Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation.

In a season where Nigeria continues to search for stability, productivity and renewed national purpose, Workers’ Day known in Nigeria as May Day, commemorated on every first of May arrives not merely as a public holiday, but as a moment of deep reflection. This year, the message shared by the Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation, through Dr. Mudiare Onobrakpeya and Ovuomaroro Gallery, carries unusual resonance. At the heart of the tribute is an iconic black print by Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya titled Obeorokpa Vayeroye (Farmer and Wife), created in 2017.

The artwork is more than a visual celebration of labour. It is a national mirror.

Rendered in the unmistakable visual language that has defined Bruce Onobrakpeya’s artistic journey for decades, the print presents intertwined human forms surrounded by patterns, textures, tools and organic symbols. The figures of the farmer and his wife emerge almost as one body that is inseparable in survival, dignity and purpose. In that union lies a profound statement about Nigeria itself.

The Workers’ Day message accompanying the print declares that, “Today, we celebrate the dedication, resilience and creativity of workers who build, inspire and shape our world.”
Those words resonate deeply within the imagery of Farmer and Wife, where labour is portrayed not as burden alone, but as the enduring force that sustains communities and nations.

For generations, agriculture formed the backbone of Nigeria’s economy before the dominance of oil redirected national attention. Yet the soil remains fertile, the rural population energetic and the opportunities vast. Across the country, from the rice fields of Kebbi to cassava farms in Delta and cocoa plantations in Ondo, agriculture still quietly sustains millions of families. The artwork reminds viewers that beyond policy speeches and economic blueprints, it is the ordinary worker, the farmer, trader, artisan and labourer who truly holds the nation together.

What makes ‘Farmer and Wife’ especially powerful is its recognition of shared labour. The woman in the composition is not secondary. She is central. She represents the countless Nigerian women whose invisible work powers homes, farms, markets and communities. Women remain among the strongest forces in Nigeria’s agricultural economy, participating in planting, harvesting, food processing and local commerce, often while carrying the responsibilities of caregiving and family stability.

In many rural communities, women are the quiet architects of survival.

The print therefore becomes a tribute not only to workers, but to partnership. Nation-building is not the task of men alone, governments alone or institutions alone. It is collective labour. The farmer and wife symbolise cooperation, resilience and endurance, these are values Nigeria urgently needs as it navigates inflation, unemployment and widening economic pressures.

The card’s affirmation, “We see you. We appreciate you. We celebrate you.” feels particularly important in a country where the efforts of everyday workers often go unnoticed. From farmers in remote villages to women sustaining family businesses in crowded markets, countless Nigerians continue to carry the weight of national survival with quiet dignity.

There is also something deeply symbolic about the medium itself. Bruce Onobrakpeya’s mastery of printmaking has always transformed texture into storytelling. Every line in the artwork feels carved from experience. The dense patterns evoke complexity, struggle and continuity. The figures appear rooted to the earth, suggesting that true prosperity can only emerge when people remain connected to labour, creativity and heritage.

This is where the message from Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation and Ovuomaroro Gallery becomes particularly significant. By using art to commemorate Workers’ Day, it extends the founder’s enduring philosophy that art must live beyond galleries. Art should provoke thought, preserve memory and inspire society. It should not remain trapped “in the finger” or hidden as talent without impact. Instead, it must engage the realities of the people.

For Nigeria’s younger generation, this reflection arrives as both encouragement and challenge.

Agriculture today is no longer limited to hoes and cutlasses. It includes agritech innovation, food processing, export opportunities, mechanised farming and creative entrepreneurship. A country blessed with enormous arable land cannot afford to neglect its agricultural future. The farmer in Onobrakpeya’s print is therefore not simply a rural labourer. He is a symbol of untapped national wealth.

Equally, the wife beside him represents the indispensable strength of Nigerian women whose contributions often remain under-celebrated. Whether in markets, classrooms, hospitals, farms or creative industries, women continue to shape the moral and economic fabric of the nation. Their resilience sustains communities even in difficult times.

As Workers’ Day reflections continue, the closing words on the card linger with powerful simplicity: “Strong Hands. Strong Minds. Better Tomorrow.” In many ways, that message captures the spirit of Farmer and Wife itself, a belief that the future of Nigeria will be built not only by policy and politics, but by the resilience, creativity and shared labour of its people.

And perhaps that is the enduring power of Bruce Onobrakpeya’s art that does not merely decorate walls but speaks to the nation.

iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Arts from the Original.
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