Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, underscored the need for Africans to adopt a renewed mindset to truly achieve decolonisation and claim their place on the global stage.

He made these remarks at the African premiere of The Decolonisation of Africa, a landmark documentary hosted by Accelerate Media Group at The Metropolitan Club, Lagos, under the executive production of its CEO, Colette Otusheso.

In her remarks, Otusheso reflected on the origin of the project, inspired by a profound conversation with Chief Obasanjo and rooted in the late Dr. Herbert Wigwe’s vision of empowering Africans to tell their own stories through their own lens.

This project began with a deep sense of purpose. Meeting former President Obasanjo opened my eyes to how important it is that this story be told—and told properly. Dr. Herbert Wigwe believed in the power of storytelling to shape identity and preserve legacy. That belief continues to guide us,” Otusheso said.

As Executive Producer, Otusheso spoke to the careful and deliberate process of assembling the right team to bring the vision to life. She tapped Ed Emeka Keazor, a respected historian and researcher, to ensure the documentary was historically grounded, authentic, and nuanced.

I knew we needed depth and credibility, and Emeka brought both. His research helped frame the story in a way that’s insightful and accessible, she noted.

She also chose Bardia Olowu, a dynamic young director, to bring a fresh perspective to the subject matter.

I wanted a younger director who could interpret this history with creative boldness—someone who would honour the past while connecting with younger audiences across Africa and beyond, she explained.

The result is a six-part documentary that blends rare archival footage, intimate interviews, and untold stories from key figures and liberation leaders. The Decolonisation of Africa not only chronicles the continent’s path to independence but captures the emotional and political spirit that fuelled those movements.

This is more than a documentary—it’s a declaration. A tribute to our shared legacy, and a call to continue building a future where African voices are heard, respected, and celebrated, Otusheso added.

In his address, Chief Obasanjo reinforced the message of the film: that symbolic independence is not enough, and Africa must actively pursue economic, social, and psychological liberation.

If America can lead the white race and China the Chinese, then Nigeria is destined to lead the Black race, he said.

Fola Adeola, President of The Metropolitan Club, described the documentary as a timely and important reminder of Africa’s resilience, while Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary General, lauded Obasanjo’s contributions to ending apartheid and fostering democracy in Africa.

Tributes were paid to the late Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Co-Founder and former Group CEO of Access Holdings, whose unwavering support helped bring the project to life. Otusheso also recognised Access Bank for its ongoing commitment to cultural preservation and the power of storytelling.

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Love makes people do crazy things. Some quit their jobs to follow a partner across the world, others write songs, start wars, or spend their life savings on grand romantic gestures, just to make their partner happy.

But Erika LaBrie? She went a step further and married a 1,083-foot iron tower in Paris.

A woman looked at the Eiffel Tower, a structure made of 7,300 tons of metal, built in 1889, and visited by millions of tourists every year, and thought, “That’s my soulmate.” 

And she didn’t just have a crush. She legally changed her name to Erika Eiffel, committed to it in a commitment ceremony, and has been devoted to the tower for over two decades.

Many people would dismiss this as pure insanity, and I wouldn’t blame them. But let’s be clear: Erika isn’t delusional. She’s part of a small but very real community of people who experience objectum sexuality (OS)—a deep romantic and sometimes sexual attraction to inanimate objects. 

For her, the Eiffel Tower isn’t just a landmark. It’s her partner, her confidant, her husband.

YOU MIGHT LIKE: 5 reasons most people get married

How does someone fall in love with a building?

Erika’s story begins long before she ever set foot in Paris. As a child, she felt drawn to objects in a way others couldn’t understand. 

She formed emotional bonds with things most people saw as lifeless—cars, fences, even a pinball machine. But it wasn’t until she visited Paris in 2004 that she experienced true love at first sight.

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Standing beneath the Eiffel Tower, she was overwhelmed. The way the iron beams stretched into the sky, the way the lights sparkled at night—it wasn’t just admiration. It was devotion. She later described the moment as “a magnetic pull,” like the tower was speaking to her.

Most of us would snap a selfie and move on. Erika, however, started visiting the tower daily, talking to it, touching it, and eventually, declaring her love publicly. She even “married” the tower in a commitment ceremony, wearing a white dress and exchanging vows. Though obviously, the tower didn’t respond.

How does this work?”

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room. No, Erika doesn’t believe the Eiffel Tower is sentient. She knows it’s metal and bolts. But for her, the emotional connection is as real as any human relationship. She describes feeling “seen” by the tower in a way people never made her feel.

Objectum sexuality is rare, but it’s not new. There are documented cases of people forming deep romantic bonds with bridges, roller coasters, and even the Berlin Wall. 

Psychologists are still figuring out whether some brains are wired differently or just an extreme case of humans projecting emotions onto lifeless things. 

Either way, for those who experience it, they claim the love is undeniably real.

EXPLORE MORE: Real Stories: We dated for 6 years, but I’m not so sure I want to marry her

The backlash

Unsurprisingly, Erika’s marriage made headlines, and not in a good way. Tabloids mocked her, tourists gawked, and French officials were not thrilled about someone claiming matrimony with their national monument. 

But Erika didn’t care. She stood by her love, even as others called it a publicity stunt or mental illness.

What’s fascinating is how consistent her devotion has been. She didn’t just marry the tower for attention and move on. She’s spent years advocating for OS rights, giving interviews, and even appearing in documentaries. 

She’s built a life around this unusual love.

Plot twist: There was another love

Just when you thought this story couldn’t get more surprising, it did. 

What if we told you that in later years, Erika found herself a new love? Apparently, the Eiffel Tower wasn’t her only love. The new object of her affection? A fence.

After years of commitment to one of the world’s most iconic structures, she developed feelings for what most of us would barely notice.

Why? Only Erika knows.

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For weeks, the brightly lit Yaba Art Museum had a new outlook. When you walked into it, the paintings on the walls were no longer the most intriguing attraction. All over the main gallery, you found people huddled around tables, assembling curiously shaped wood and paper with the dexterity of skilled technicians and the verve of those on a mission. 

For a casual onlooker, this scene could have passed for a craft class, but an inquisitive enquirer soon discovered that the young people at work—students of Yaba School of Technology—were building massive puppet animals set to parade the streets of Lagos from April 18 to 20, 2025. Their technical skills and creativity found expression in an unlikely context: climate activism through public art, specifically a global project tagged THE HERDS.

Being part of the project made me feel like my creativity could actually make a difference. It wasn’t just about making something nice, but using art to spread awareness and start conversations, said Hassan Abdullateef, a Fine Art major at Yabatech.

The journey that brought these students together for this cause began with the epiphany of Amir Nizar Zuabi. The renowned creative director conceived the idea for Little Amal, a gigantic puppet representing a little girl travelling the world. As Little Amal strolled through cities, people trooped out in droves to welcome her, connecting with the message of migration and the reality of refugees. Then it struck Zuabi: maybe a similar strategy could be useful in inspiring climate action; maybe life-size puppet animals stampeding through cities while supposedly fleeing the destruction of their ecosystem due to climate change could be a uniquely effective call to action for the world. And this, “THE HERDS,” was born.

From April to August 2025, a herd of magnificent animal puppets will journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle. The procession will make stops in major cities across 11 countries, including Lagos, Nigeria. This public art display will be accompanied by locally relevant cultural performances designed to pique the public’s interest and send a message that the world needs saving.

What makes THE HERDS particularly outstanding is its focus on local stakeholder partnerships in each country. The Nigerian production, led by A Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation, has so far gained the support of several partners, including government agencies, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, and individuals. When it came to assembling the puppets, Yabatech students, supported by professionals, technicians and the school’s alumni, rose to the occasion.

The students’ reasons for joining THE HERDS project reflect both artistic curiosity and environmental concern. For some, like Adefila Toluwanimi Joshua, the initial attraction was purely visual before deeper engagement took hold, while others like Hassan Abdullateef saw it immediately as “a fun and meaningful way to use art to talk about climate change.” Oladunjoye Ifeanyi Moses was drawn to the project because, in his words, “it’s more than just an art project—it’s a statement.” Even engineering students found purpose in the creative approach, with Joseph Ifefimihan appreciating how THE HERDS “makes climate change easier to understand and connect with.”

Some of the established young professionals working with the students also highlighted the project’s significance and their interest in nature as reasons for choosing to contribute to it. “A project of this scale is needed to get the attention of the world and inspire action to reverse the damage of climate change and save our planet,” said Chuma Anagbado, artist and founder of Lizaad, the design studio that cut the materials used in making all the puppets and single-handedly assembled three of them—elephant, giraffe, and kudu. 

I’ve been drawn to climate action issues and projects naturally because I happen to be a plant dad and very much interested in nurturing nature, Anagbado added.

For these young creators, climate activism isn’t an abstract concept or imported Western concern; it’s deeply rooted in their daily experiences. Nigeria’s environmental challenges provide a constant backdrop to their lives, influencing everything from daily comfort to economic stability. It makes sense that they are particularly passionate about the project.

The weather is no longer stable—sometimes it’s too hot, and sometimes there’s too much rain that causes flooding, Hassan recounts, describing personal experiences with floods that left streets impassable for days. People’s properties were floating in dirty water. It made me realise climate change is real, and we need to do something before it gets worse.

The project has transformed students’ understanding of art’s potential to drive social change. Hassan Abdullateef articulates this realisation: Art and creative projects like THE HERDS can really help people understand climate change better. Not everyone likes to read long articles or listen to news, but when they see art, it catches their attention. This sentiment is echoed by Dr. Odun Orimolade, Curatorial Director of the Yaba Art Museum. This approach is effective because it bypasses intellectual barriers, connecting directly to the heart of the audience, she says.

Oladunjoye Ifeanyi Moses, a General Art student with an entrepreneurial mindset, expands on this idea. “Art has always been a tool for advocacy, and I see it playing a huge role in Nigeria’s climate movement,” he explains. In a country where environmental issues often compete with immediate economic concerns for public attention, the visual impact of massive puppet animals moving through familiar spaces creates a startling spectacle that demands notice.

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A common thread among the students’ reflections is the importance of youth involvement in climate solutions. “This will help build a knowledge box that moves faster than the internet as they are the next carriers of information to the coming generations,” argues Toluwanimi Joshua.

Joseph Ifefimihan frames youth involvement as a matter of self-preservation: “It’s important for young people to be involved in climate change conversations because we are the ones who will live with the long-term effects. The choices made today will shape our future, so we can’t afford to be silent.”

Ogbu Obinna Frednard puts it even more bluntly: “Older generations might have started this, but we’re the ones stuck figuring out how to survive it.” This generational perspective gives the project additional urgency and purpose. “We’ve got to be involved because it’s our lives, our communities, our wildlife on the line,” he adds.

As the puppet animals prepare for their Lagos debut, the students have clear visions for what they hope these creations will communicate. Toluwanimi Joshua hopes the takeaway will be a call for us to “come together and save each other,” as reflected by the collaborative nature of the process of assembling the puppets and displaying them publicly. 

Oladunjoye Ifeanyi Moses also envisions a significant impact: “I hope these puppet animals send a clear message about the urgent need to protect our environment. As they march through Lagos, I want people to see them not just as art, but as symbols of the wildlife and nature that are at risk due to climate change.”

“We’re losing these creatures, and if we don’t act, they’ll be gone,” says Ogbu Obinna Frednard. The stark simplicity of this statement, coupled with the visual power of the puppets themselves, creates an unmistakable call to action.

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