A forum designed to bring artistes together to form a common front that will cut them a better deal in the front that will cut them a better deal in the next political dispensation, artistes would rather berate each other and talk of something else rather than face the issue at stake.

Probably irked by the total neglect that has been the lot of the arts and the culture community in the current dispensation, the Co-ordinators of the Committee for relevant arts (CORA), Jahman Anikulapo and Toyin Akinoso, organised the 46th Art Stampede with the theme, 2003 Elections: What Artistes Demand From the Aspirants?

It was billed to be a timely intervention to stall the gradual decline of the Nigerian Culture and its stakeholders in the hands of contemporary politicians. It was also meant to bring about an interface between the politicians and the stakeholders ranging from the authors to the thespians and even the enthusiasts.

While the politicians, except one, expectedly boycotted the meet, the artistes on hand left much to be desired regarding their grasp of the issue at stake.

But for the articulate dispositions of veterans like Gbenga Sonuga of the International Centre for the Arts, Lagos (ICAL) and Elder Steve Rhodes, both of whom at one time or the other had been privileged to serve governments, the meeting could as well have been turned to a battle field of intellectually bereft ideas that would rather waste time than address the main points of discussion.

While the anchor, Jahman Anikulapo did all within his power to bring the stampede back in track, his power to bring the stampede back in track, it appears, from the proceedings of the stampede, that there has to be a serious in house cleaning first, before the artist can go ahead to present their demands to government.

For Gbenga Sonuga, the artistes can not go individually to make demands of any government in power without first, searching its soul, coming together and forming an intervention group. This group, according to him, must comprise of all practitioners and it must have the ears of someone in the corridor of power, preferably the minister of culture.

Taking it further, Elder Steve Rhodes, who has given the better part of his life to promoting arts noted that this intervention group must be a think-tank that will be brimming with ideas to move the arts forward and it must be consulted by the government before any decisions affecting the well being of the culture sector.

While this in itself is desirable, it would take a minister of culture with an appreciation for the arts and culture of the people of Nigeria to make it possible and met a minister who said the best thing to happen to Nigeria is the crowning of Agbani Darego as Miss World.

Jahman Anikulapo pointed out that the first demand should be the making of the ministry of culture a sacrosanct ministry that must be headed by someone from the culture sector and not a political appointee like it is presently done.

There was no surprise that this demand had to come from the anchor himself, who must have wondered how the significance of holding the stampede under a tree in front of the dilapidated structure that is meant to be the National Theater, but whose status is currently debated, if not outrighhtly unknown.

Oji Onoko, who have had the privilege of working for the present government as a member of the drafting committee of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was expected to play the devil's advocate when he mounted the podium, and though he did it in a commendable manner his emphasis on lack of funds for a committee that was meant to provide funds for artistes made most of the audience to want to ask if it was possible to expect anything positive from the current government in power.

When it was time for the politicians to unveil what their plans were for the artistes in the next dispensation, the only politicians on hand, and Lagos State Gubernatorial Candidate on the platform of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Lateef Abasi said he was willing to do all what the artistes have been demanding as arts and culture are considered to be under education and his party was giving priority to education in their programmes.

However, even he committed a blunder as arts and culture is not in any way under education, though most of the activities are educative and as such easily Co-opted into school curriculum to enhance the learning process of school children.

The anchor even went further to elucidate on how there has been a war on which word takes precedence in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as most would still consider the ministry to be a ministry of tourism than culture as the whole activity of the incumbent minister culture.

However, no one seem to blame the politicians for always wanting to see culture as part of another sector since the practitioners were yet to start taking themselves serious.

While the stampede was on, it was more possible to hold water in a basket than it would be possible to find an artiste on his seat as most of them were more interested in milling around and discussing in groups rather than sit and listen as their fortunes and future are being discussed.

Little wonder all their contributions were way off the mark of the main theme even, the anchor had to remind one of them privileged to talk that a certain issue he raised had been confined to the thrash can of history and so it should not be resurrected.

It is only baffling that the culture sector boast of the most intellectual, creative and articulate personalities in the population and yet it is neglected.

This is an evidence that something is not right and it is certainly good to hope that the stampede, irrespective of its shortcomings, is able to stampede the powers that be into action, for that is the only time its objectives would have been fulfilled.