Leading Ladies Africa speaks to Lydia Idakula Sobogun, founder, Taruwa Arts Festival

1. For Lydia Idakula Sobogun, CEO Gbagyichild Entertainment, propagating the arts is a life-long passion and commitment, not just a hobby. As the Leading Lady Africa for the week, she speaks about connecting the dots, and establishing connections between culture, arts and identity.

You’re famous for founding Taruwa, the Taruwa Arts Festival, and a host of other artsy things; but who exactly is Lydia Idakula Sobogun?

I honestly never know how to answer that question. I don’t like to talk about myself, I prefer to talk about the things I do. I like for people to tell me who they think I am after they’ve experienced me.

Why are you so interested in the propagation of arts? Do you have a background in Performing Arts?

It is not an interest. It is a passion. What I feel about/for the arts is a raw unadulterated love. My father was a guitarist and he and my mother sang together and we (the kids) were clearly influenced by their love for creativity but I think the kind of love I have is a gift. It is what I’ve been called to do and I don’t joke with it or take it lightly.

You probably get asked this all the time; but what was the inspiration behind founding Taruwa?

I started organising events when I was in Jos (I grew up in Jos) and I had an Idea for an event called ‘Cocktail of Art’. It was basically Taruwa but on a very huge scale. It was going to involve some international acts and it needed sponsors so when the Idea for Taruwa came, it disguised it self as something tiny.
We were actually sitting on a dining table with my friends and cousins and having a mini taruwa and we decided to open it up to other people. We went to Bogobiri and Chike said we could come use it so we had our first one on the 21st of August in 2007. We were seven.

How long have you been running Taruwa and what are some of the challenges you’ve faced in sustaining the “movement”?

Taruwa is in its seventh year and for some two years of those seven years, my brother Bez and Deborah Nwaohiri ran it. We’ve had several challenges and the biggest one for a while was venue. We started when the new Bogobiri had not been built and we outgrew the old space. We moved around from venue to venue for a while until Bogobiri II was built and we came back. Over the years, we’ve evolved into a (not so) quarterly arts and culture Magazine, a Festival and an online magazine now on taruwamagazine.com

What drives you to continue to do this thing that many would consider unprofitable; especially in a clime such as ours?

Everything I do is divinely orchestrated. I get the ideas and they usually brew for years before they come out. The Idea for the Performing Arts Festival (which is in its second year and holding from the 4th -7th of June 2014 at Terrakulture – www.taruwafestival.org) actually came before the idea for Taruwa but there was no release to move on it until last year. What I do is not a job. It’s a passion. It’s what I’ve been called to do. I have no choice in the matter really. Plus I love it.

You hosted the TEDxOnikanWomen event last year which featured Oby Ezekwesili amongst other speakers. What was the inspiration behind that?

I wanted to do a TEDx event because I absolutely love the Idea and I spend a lot of time watching TED talks. I love that their motto is ‘Ideas Worth Sharing’. I wanted to do a TEDx women because I believe women are profound and so are their stories. It was an enlightening and validating experience for me but I will not be hosting another TEDx event. I think that Africans need to focus more on building and exporting our own events, brands and Ideas.
I strongly think that we can come up with our own competitions and TV shows and world conferences and make them work internationally. I have several Ideas for such and that is where I am going to focus my energy on. I would however attend and speak at any, when invited.

As a mother and a wife, how are you able to combine both roles with the type of work you do?

I have my priorities on a scale of preference. My family comes at the top of the list and everything else comes after. I make decisions with that in mind. I also consider it very important to spend time with myself. You’ll catch me at the movies on my own or taking a trip on my own just to breathe out and refresh myself. It helps me A LOT and I never burn out or get bored.

You are Alternative singer, Bez Idakula’s sister; how do you feel about his meteoric rise

I am very proud of my brother. I am not surprised that he has risen to the top at what he does. His focus is ‘as the crow flies” when he makes up his mind about something he faces it head on and in a straight line with no detours. He is also down to earth, His talent may have gotten him to the top, but his character will keep him there.

What is your own definition of success?

Success for me is several things. Fulfillment and happiness, being able to get something from my head to fruition (the process of creating, and most importantly, being able to bless or affect one person positively.

Do you have a personal mantra you live by, and how does it affect your life?

Oh wow, I have several. Everything I do, I must first be passionate about and it MUST affect lives positively.
Secondly I don’t judge situations by people’s standards. It sometimes makes me look like I don’t know what’s up and people have told me I will be taken advantage of but I am not in this world to please you, I want to please God.
I believe that I am not in this life to make money but to build relationships. I also believe that there has got to be more that being born, going to school, getting married, having kids and then dying. My life has got to count for something and if it is about how much money I have or the cars I have acquired… well, that would be disappointing.

 How pivotal is your faith to your life?

My faith is everything to me. I Love God completely and everything I do is predicated on my relationship with God, and this is putting it mildly. Lol

If you weren’t doing Taruwa and its other initiatives, what else would you be doing?

I would be doing Taruwa and its other initiatives! Everything I do or will do is around the Arts, Media and entertainment. I have some social development plans in the works but they are all still under the Gbagyichild Entertainment umbrella.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years

I have several Ideas and plans, In 5 years I would like to see them grown. In 5 years, Taruwa will be 12 years and the festival will be 7. I really don’t know where I’ll be or what exactly I’ll be doing but I know for sure I’ll still be walking in my purpose.

What singular thing has shaped the way you think or behave?

I don’t know that there’s just one thing that has had that effect but definitely the death of my father is one. I grew up overnight and took on responsibilities… It definitely changed the way I look at life. Secondly, I had an encounter with God in 2007. It changed the way I prayed, the way I see God, the way I love God, the things I choose to do, the people I develop relationships with… it changed everything.

Final words of inspiration for other women out there?

I would say make sure you’re living your best life everyday. Tell yourself the truth, tell yourself you are beautiful and worthy of good and whatever makes you fulfilled and makes you smile, just do it.