UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH CREATIVE PERFORMANCE ARTS OF JELILI ATIKU AND YUSUF DURODOLA

Abstract

Over the years, Nigeria's economy and socio-cultural activities have faced a series of negative challenges such as inflation, closure of companies, unemployment, banditry, and killings among other vices militating against the development of the average individual and the nation. The resultant negative effect of these challenges is brain drain among the youths that forms the bedrock of positive developments of a nation. In the same vein, the traditional socio-cultural values of the citizens are also gradually being eroded and replaced with negative foreign values. However, in attracting our youths to attain economic sustainability, the role of performance art practice, as a vocational option in national development, has not been fully annexed. The duo of Jelili Atiku and Durodola Yusuf have positively contributed to the nation’s economy and socio-cultural development through their creative performance arts. Given the above, this paper aims to study the performances of the duo artists to project the benefits of their art to the economy and socio-cultural advancement of Nigeria. The paper engaged the qualitative method and it hinges on primary and secondary data sources. It also adopted the Performance theory pioneered by Wallece Bacon and popularised by Richard Schechner. Shepherd (2016, p. x) sees performance theory as a way of framing objects of study, viewing them as performances, thereby facilitating a new sort of thinking about them. To this end, this paper explains the term performance art, projects the biography of the duo artists, studies their performances, and discusses the advantages of their performances as a means of unlocking opportunities for the youths and general contributions to the development of the nation. The paper recommends that performance art be included in the curriculum of primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education, and also be accepted as a means to job creation and self-sustenance made possible with little amount as capital base among others.