By Osita Mbonu
Nigerian artists across multiple disciplines have transformed their creative work into powerful instruments of protest, documentation, and advocacy against the country’s pervasive insecurity crisis, using music, visual art, poetry, theater, and digital media to expose the trauma of kidnappings, terrorism, and violence while demanding government accountability.
Bob-Nosa Uwagboe, a leading protest artist in Nigeria born in Benin City, uses mixed-media paintings and drawings to expose corruption, police brutality, domestic violence, and human trafficking. His solo exhibition, “Transit”, at the National Museum in Gdansk comprised 30 mixed-media paintings and 59 drawings addressing Nigeria’s socio-political failures. He explicitly states: “I see art as a tool to raise pertinent issues in public discourse to incite social change”.
Bob-Nosa Uwagboe’s 2012 work titled “Sleeping by the Gun with Two Eyes Open” just one among many of his works squarely addressing the endemic insecurity in his country Nigeria. The piece, according to the artist, “is a powerful social commentary on the alarming state of insecurity in society. The artwork captures the atmosphere of fear, vigilance, and uncertainty that has become a part of everyday life, where individuals are compelled to live in constant alertness for survival and protection. Through its evocative imagery, the piece reflects the emotional and psychological burden imposed by violence, crime, and social instability.
“Ultimately, the artwork serves not only as an artistic expression but also as a call for reflection on the urgent need for safety, peace, justice, and social responsibility within our society.”
Jerry Buhari’s works reflect environmental destruction and political/social woes, including themes of Boko Haram insurgency, oil pollution, and ethnic tensions. He uses fabric as his “canvas” with miniature paintings and micro-objects to document African migration and political repression.
Julius Agbaje, the social satirist from Lagos created the iconic portrait, “Joke’s on You”, depicting President Buhari as the Joker, which became the emblem of the #EndSARS youth protests against police brutality in 2020. His work, “Good cop, Bad cop”, shows monkeys in police helmets with mugshot signs reading “murder” and “duplicity & theft,” directly confronting police violence.
Dele Jegede, a U.S-based art historian and painter, long ago created “The Niger Delta Apocalypse”‘expressing the terror and catastrophe of pipeline vandalism in the oil-rich Niger Delta. He addressed man-induced disasters hazardous to human, plant, and animal lives.
Dele Jegede’s The Niger Delta Apocalypse (2011) confronts the devastation caused by pipeline vandalism in Nigeria’s oil-producing Delta. The work portrays the region’s man-made calamities as truly catastrophic, threatening human life, ecosystems, and local livelihoods.
Jegede also points to accidents born of corporate negligence—blasts at pipelines, rigs, and storage sites that follow lapses in safety and regulatory oversight.
Shown in the “Mirroring Man: Society and Politics in Nigerian Art” exhibition at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, this vivid composition urges viewers to pause and consider the combined roles of militants and oil companies in pushing the Delta toward ecological and social ruin.
