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No Child Left Behind: Kanye’s call for inclusion of children living with Autism

By Ajuluchukwu Brown, Abuja
09 April 2023   |   7:54 pm
Last Sunday, the wonder kid, Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, successfully ended his visual art exhibition with the title, 'No Child Left Behind'. The exhibition which took place at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, was well attended by both dignitaries and art enthusiasts. 'No Child Left Behind' exhibition had paintings that took its viewers into a beautiful and colourful…

Last Sunday, the wonder kid, Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke, successfully ended his visual art exhibition with the title, ‘No Child Left Behind’. The exhibition which took place at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, was well attended by both dignitaries and art enthusiasts.

‘No Child Left Behind’ exhibition had paintings that took its viewers into a beautiful and colourful world of the abstract. Kanye’s exceptional arrest of strokes on canvas left every attendee beaming with satisfaction.

Some of the dignitaries in attendance include, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jamie Christoff, the President, of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Muhammed Suleiman, and many more.

The exhibition was also Kanye’s artistic way of lending a voice to World Autism Day. S

peaking at the exhibition, Canadian High Commissioner, Jamie Christoff, stated that it was always a delight to see Kanyeyachukwu’s artistic expression, which has attracted global appeal.

“On this World Autism Day, he is a reminder that autism is not a limitation to attaining any dream.”

President, of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Muhammad Suleiman, who doubled as the curator of the exhibition, lauded the outstanding artistic prowess of Kanye and also expressed satisfaction at the rising awareness of Nigerians about Autism.

In his words: “These works are beautiful and brilliantly put together. It is so interesting because teenager has redefined Autism. Interestingly, Nigeria has changed so fast. One of the ways it has changed is in its appreciation of the people within Nigeria, especially people living with disabilities.

“In this case, it is Autism. For the first time, I am seeing that continuously, year after year, Nigerians are beginning to appreciate those that are living with Autism and showing up for them at any time they are called upon.

“Now, this exhibition ‘No Child Left Behind’, apart from the artist who is Kanyeyachukwu, the whole idea is to drive it through and make sure that every other child is taken either to draw awareness to the whole idea or to pull in so much more attention to the cause of autism, no found cure yet but people that live with it are exceptionally gifted.”

Kanye’s father, Mr Tagbo Okeke, disclosed that he discovered Kanye’s flare for art at a very tender age.

He said: “After we got the diagnosis and discovered he had Autism, the next stage was managing him. While at it, we decided to look for whatever it is that we can get him to do to engage his mind. One day, we discovered that he had a flare for Art.

“We took him to an art teacher, who started to work with him and from there, we got to this stage. For us ‘No Child Left Behind’ started with our advocacy when we started to create awareness for Autism.

“Children with special needs shouldn’t be left behind; they should have access to education and social skills, and be able to relate with every other person without being isolated. Thank God Kanye has been able to inspire children living with autism globally.”

The exhibition also had the musical performance of another special need child, Chiguo, who thrilled the audience with the melodious tune from her piano.

Minister Onyema, gave a glowing tribute to the young talent and urged the government and society to do more for people living with special needs.

He said: “We are proud of Kanye and what he has achieved. This is a message we need to communicate to the world at large. W have seen Hollywood blockbusters in this same issue and we know yes, it is a medical condition, but a lot of them are also geniuses and are adding to the positives in our world.

“Government should be doing a lot more in funding as well. And the United Nations is also doing its part. Today is World Autism day. We all have to come together to provide funding.

“In my address today, I put special emphasis on the role of the parents and the caregivers, we know the sacrifices they are making and just how important their role is. They need support and the government must provide that support, and I think it is something that we have to keep pressing for through advocacy groups. It is a whole society obligation.”

Joyce Kalu, an Art enthusiast, expressed admiration for the art pieces when she said: “I am so challenged and I leave here with a renewed mentality of autism. This is a perfect display of ability in disability. The paintings are indeed breathed taking.”

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