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Chuks Onwudinjo, a protest artist, art teacher and award-winning magazine cover illustrator, looks back on an artistic journey that began in his primary school days

By Sylvester Asoya

Chuks Onwudinjo loves art, a passion that began in his childhood, and eventually shaped the person he would become. As a matter of fact, Onwudinjo found joy and expression in every line he drew, and every colour he chose in his primary school days. As a pupil, art defined him after his diligent art teachers, both in Asaba and Benin-City, discovered his flair for drawing, a deep passion for art, and his readiness to explore the world and embrace new experiences.

However, Onwudinjo’s life story is a tangled narrative designed by desire, ambition and fate. Born about 62 years ago, he insists that art came naturally to him, first at St. Joseph’s Primary School, Asaba, and later at Holy Cross Primary School, Benin-City, where he rounded off his primary education. “Truly, my teachers discovered my artistic talent. And in those days, they would ask me to illustrate photographic instructions with chalk on the blackboard during Integrated Science sessions for the benefit of my classmates, who enjoyed my drawings. Usually, I climbed a stool because I was too small to reach the blackboard while standing. It was a real deal”
In no time, he became a prodigy, blessed with a talent that came effortless, and eventually shaped his life and became his profession.

When it was time for young Onwudinjo to move on to a secondary school, his parents acted without hesitation, sending him to their hometown of Asaba to join one of the most prestigious and highly-sought after schools in the defunct Bendel State. At St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, he was not only given the chance to receive a strong academic foundation but also an environment where his natural talents could flourish. Surrounded by peers and teachers who recognized and encouraged his budding abilities and determination, he had no choice but to succeed.

For reasons that remain unclear, Onwudinjo was grossly underrated even though he possessed prodigious talents as a creative in those day. And this is ironic. For instance, when he applied to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for his higher education, his concerned mother was outraged, believing that her young son lacked what it took to gain admission to such a reputable institution. But he remained focused and eventually gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, after first spending some time at College of Education, Iyaro, now College of Education, Ekiadolo, in Benin-City. For the young artist, his stint at Iyaro proved to be a defining moment, as it was there that he encountered an art great like Osato Odewingwe, whose influence left a lasting impression on him.

In a dramatic twist, while studying art at College of Education, Iyaro,
he was posted to his alma mater, St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, for his teaching practice. Here, he thoroughly enjoyed the dual role of teacher and student, especially as he reunited with some of his less fortunate classmates who were still students when he returned to St. Patrick’s College as a student teacher. However, part of his convoluted story is that he actually gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, not as an art student but into the Agronomy Department. As fate would have it, the same mother who had doubted his ability to gain admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was the one who traveled all the way from Benin-City to hand him his letter of admission in Asaba where he was on teaching practice.
His university education came with unexpected challenges. But beyond the burden of being admitted into a completely different department, the young man also found himself struggling to figure out how to untangle himself from Agronomy. Then a saviour emerged through the instrumentality of Professor Chuka Amaefulah, an art teacher who discovered Onwudinjo’s dilemma early enough and stepped in. Outside Amaefulah, the young artist was also lucky to have been taught by renowned artists and scholars such as Obiora Udechukwu, Seth Anku, El Antsu, Ola Oloida, Chike Aniakor, all professors.
But the opportunity to study art, his dream course at the university, came with added advantages, notably becoming the campus’s preferred designer of birthday, Valentine, and party cards. Everybody, particularly female undergraduates, wanted his artistic signature on every social card, as it determined whether they would attend or not.
That period was a real-life encounter that brought his business skills to the fore as an undergraduate.

Beyond the schools, colleges, and university he attended, Onwudinjo’s development was also shaped by Benin-City, renowned for its rich artistic heritage and informal cultural education. His artistic journey and influences were equally formed by his frequent childhood visits to Igun Street, the traditional centre of bronze casting in Benin-City, and the city’s museum, rich in historical and cultural artifacts.

As it turned out, the young artist received an unexpected job offer shortly after graduating with top grades from the Department of Fine and Applied Art at the University of Nigeria. According to him, he had just returned to his parents’ home in Benin-City after completing his national youth service and about to begin a postgraduate when his father told him about an invitation to a written test at Newswatch Communications in Lagos. And that marked the beginning of his foray into magazine design, graphics, illustration and media art.

Upon arriving in Lagos, he noticed over fifty other candidates awaiting the test. That morning, Soji Akinrinade, who played a central role in the development and editorial leadership of Newswatch, asked the applicants to go and design Newswatch with Wole Soyinka on the cover. However, something significant occurred. Onwudinjo, young and confident, told the examiner that it was actually possible for the individuals being tested to take the cover design to an experienced artist and return to claim credit for the work. Akinrinade replied that such a person might be employed initially but would be fired immediately the deception was discovered. Eventually, his cover was chosen, and an exciting artistic journey began for the young University of Nigeria graduate. And the day his first cover design went into production, Ray Ekpu, the editor-in-chief, celebrated him in the magazine’s Editorial Suite which was usually the opener of the week’s offering.

Onwudinjo recalls that life at the time was vibrant for editorial and production staff in Nigerian media houses. According to him, they worked hard and also played hard. During work periods, especially night shifts, they often relaxed at Ikeja outlets of John Chukwu’s Class Night Club and The Coliseum, owned by Ken Calebs Olumeseh.

Driven by ambition and a desire to do things differently, the founders of Tell Magazine, all editors at Newswatch, established the new publication, which Onwudinjo joined. And from which Insider emerged, where he served as a director.

Ever mindful of his craft so that his brush never dries, the artist continues to work. Last year, as a member of the National Association of Sea Dogs, he joined fellow artists in his fraternity to organize an exhibition in Owerri, titled: Art Ova Yap.
Having participated in exhibitions across Nigeria and beyond, Onwudinjo describes himself as a protest artist, with several of his cover designs winning awards consistently over the years.

All indications suggest that the finest chapters of this artist’s voyage are still unfolding. Surely, this is a journey through art and time.

This article was first published in Alice, the in-flight magazine of Air Peace