Sometime in 1993, around April of
that year to be precise, after the demise of my father, I stumbled onto his
photographic albums, mostly done by my revered uncle that ran Sparkwell Photos
at Ekotedo and the neighbourhood photo genius, at Onward Photos at Mokola
respectively both in the city of Ibadan. Also in the library, were countless
memoirs, war, historical books and essay collections. Such as David Jemibewon
memoirs on Nigerian civil war, Odumegwu Ojukwu’s Because I was Involved his personal account of the Nigerian civil
war, Olusegun Obasanjo’s Not My Will,
the former Nigerian president narratives of several events that shaped the
country, while in service such as the coups, the war and the bureaucracy that
were played during his time. I got to know more about the great and chequered
histories of The Great Britain, Russia, and America and their constitutions in
hard publications. Not to hide some secret but romantic letters of my father’s
bachelor days,damn awesome! Some of these works and letters, later, played
important part in my educational life, as well as, prepared and shaped me into
manhood.
As I delved into the library,
rumbling on different publications, staring at the ‘Che Guevera’ fiery look in
tees and red beret in one of the numerous West Africa magazine editions, I came
across an old Nigerian Daily Times publication on the 1980 African Cup of
Nations that the country played host to between 8th and 22nd
of March 1980. It was a successful soccer fiesta on the continent of Africa. One
fascinating name that struck me then was one of the men behind the lens, Peter
Obe.
I secretly stole this particular
publication, first among the many ‘authority stealing’ that I did in my
father’s library, due to the football effect. The actions on the field of play
and the characters that I saw, were bunch of old football veterans all over
Africa, however, made me to have special romance with the book. Peter Obe took the best of images, squatting,
standing, bending, tip-toeing behind the goal-post to take football images and
moments such as the opening and closing ceremonies in Lagos, the exchange of
memorabilia between the team captains, the passes, dressing rooms, the kick
off, free-kicks, corner kicks, goals and countless goals, infringements, the
cards in yellow and red, the bench for the teams, the match arbiters,
orchestrations and byline actions of the team coaches, not forgetting the hair dryers from the coaches to the
players who were not playing to instructions, the supporters and the
celebrations, all captured and published in both black and white and also
colourful images. I sat quietly under a shade, I still recall to peruse the
publication, while sitting at the banks of odo-ona river in Ibadan and the
birds on the river bank were chirping and whistling to my delight on a cool
afternoon.
Peter Obe was one of the oldest
masters of Nigeria’s photography history. The Nigerian newsrooms revered the
Peter the Rock dubbed “Mr Exclusive” by newsroom editors across the continent
and international news agencies, because ofhis ability to deliver right on
point pictures for every scoop of the moment in materials that are exclusively
high in quality and journalistic images. He turned photography into a mermaid
to be admired, while still been curious about the particular Adonis coming to
the sea.
Peter Obe’s images are full of academic
precision in delivery. He developed a
secret and intimate relationship with his subjects all the time that one would
always wondered, perhaps, if the photographer had an erstwhile relationships
with them beyond taking their pictures.
Born on December 28, 1932, an
indigene of Ondo State, in the south western part of Nigeria, Peter joined
Daily Times, Nigeria in 1953 and rose to the rank of Chief Press Photographer. He
became a maverick on duty due to his diligence and discipline that were enough
to spur the newsrooms into meeting their deadlines all the time.
Through his doggedness and
tenacity, the photographer gave the world some of the most exclusive images of
the thirty months Nigerian civil war. It was a complete memoir of the war in
black and white images, telling the world about the war in pictures, rather,
than articles and essays made Peter Obe, one of the most important
photojournalists and photographers of his time. Aptly, he was dubbed “Mr
Exclusive” by newsroom editors at Daily Times and Agence France Presse [AFP]
where he was a freelancer.
More of Peter Obe’s collections
abound in his capacity as the official photographer attached to President Shehu
Shagari on a condolence visit to Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, during the
Ogunpa flood disaster in 1980 that cost the lives of so many citizens of the
state. The images looked gory at sight, but memorable at heart.
Focus
Peter Obe’s focus on his subjects
was so exceptional. While flipping through the book cursorily, I discovered
that the photographer picked his football subjects with his long lens, since;
he wanted you to feel and adore the energy of his character from his shots. The
opening match of the series between Nigeria and Tanzania was a plethora of
actions taken on the field of play by a photographer whose power drove the
images to athletic success on the pitch. The lush green main bowl of the
National Stadium in sport city in Surulere, Lagos was just the perfect place
for an African football extravaganza. I could feel the lush green of the pitch
from Peter’s photographs. The exchange of memorabilia between Nigerian defender
and skipper of the then ‘Green Eagles’ the honorable ‘Chairman’ Christian
Chukwu and his Tanzania counterpart was a terrific action taken before the cut.
Peter took the scene with the referee and his two assistants in black uniform
grinning as well. Everyone in the picture felt Peter’s call, even when he never
called for action. It was so revealing. The legendary photographer picked the
toss of the coin by the match official, showing vividly, the shining and the deciding
coin for the first to do the kick off and from which side of the pitch. What
focus!
Knowledge
Intense knowledge of the tools
and accurate range of his analogue cameras drawing from his chest made Peter
Obe to stand out just like the rock he his. The biggest game of the series was
reported played in Ibadan city, the second venue for the tournament. Two of Africa’s
football giants, Black Stars of Ghana, the defending champions of the
competition and the Desert Warriors of Algeria locked horns in one of the
biggest cities in Africa. It was more than ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. The endless
running of the two teams, the near misses and the upright and cross bars hits
were all captured by Peter Obe, as if he was the much acclaimed fairytale wizard
on a flying mat or saucer. Peter displayed magic! The Ibadan crowd in the
stadium could have been allowed to see the preview from Peter’s lenses how he
captured their fanatical supports and rendition of songs for the two teams. One
interesting image is Peter’s close call on the sweat flowing freely from the
eclectic forty thousand strongcrowds that came to see and support the teams.
His camera got so deep into their skins bringing out their evening pores. This
particular match was once described by the late commentary legend, Fabio
Olanipekun as the greatest football spectacle he had everseen on the African
continent. The match eventually ended in a nil-nil situation. Knowledge is the
key!
Love and Discipline
Without doubt, it was obvious from
one of Peter’s shot the love and discipline he had for his job and career. The
collection of the trophy by the skipper of the ‘Green Eagles’, Christian Chukwu
from Nigerian president, Shehu Shagari and the way the captain lifted the cup
on his head was one of the greatest and most iconic shots of African Cup of
Nations history. The moment of victory could be incredible, judging from Peter’s
pull out of the victorious moment in magic photos. The Nigerian president was
dressed to taste in a sartorial all white flowing traditional ensembles,
beaming with smiles and joy behind him was the former governor of Anambra
State, the late Jim Nwobodo, a photographer’s delight anytime, while the
Nigerian captain was looking young and smashingly handsome in his afro haircut
and side burn beard deep in sweat, but brilliantly cut in a smooth, clean and
crisp image from Peter Obe.The victory parade that ensued after that was
incredible! Pictures don’t lie. Peter captured the spectacular moment into the
night under the floodlit stadium. The Green Eagles of Nigeria defeated the
Desert Warriors of Algeria by 3-0 to win the 12th edition of the
tournament. A job well loved and discipline so intense!
Freedom and Attention
Peter Obe had so much freedom to
pan his camera and roam about the pitches for images and photographs. His
thinking element was so intense and full of thirst to take story telling shots
across the football field. Under the brilliant sunshine of the final between
Nigeria and Algeria, Peter’s camera caught the attention of the Nigerian
supporters’ club who came with enough drums and percussions to support the home
team. One interesting shot is the conductor of the supporters club, who was
conducting the band and the chorus while turning his back on the match.Imagine
turning your back on a full 90 minute drama on the pitch without bothering to
catch a glimpse? Rather, he was engrossed in the churning out of songs such as
“All we are saying give us one goal” and “Ose Ose Baba” ‘Thank You God’ all
through, as the action is being enacted on the pitch. What a character!
A Success Story
Peter Obe was the rock of
Nigerian photography. His solid background in photojournalism paved the way for
smooth reporting in the annals of Nigerian journalism and the history behind
the pen business. Peter was in depth, curious, analytic and well groomed to use
the power behind his lenses to tell beautiful stories to the world. The
greatest of his time.
Legends don’t die, rather, they
live on. The incredible works of Peter Obe, one of Africa’s foremost cameramen
speak easily about the quality of the photographer. His photographs of the 12th
edition of African Cup of Nations in Nigeria, published by Daily Times of
Nigeria were beautifully captured for the whole world to have a tastily view of
the African continent through a sporting moment. Peter Obe’s photographs are a
continuous worship, as the iconic images keep attracting devotees to the
legend’s archives.
Just as the Green Eagles built on
their success stories garnering national honors and property worth millions in
today’s monetary value, Peter’s movement from an obscure photographer to
international prominence has continue to attract record attention in archival
images in his photo armoury.He died in 2013 aged 81.
Story/Aito Ireho
Images courtesy Peter Obe archives
