Francesca Odimgbe
Stories create the image and impression that a society projects to the outside world. A society will be viewed based on the projected image generated from the perspective told by its stories.
This was the inference drawn from a fireside conversation with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the 2026 Storyteller’s Conference organised by the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Visual Communications and Photography, Nosa Asemota.
The event, which attracted a huge audience from the young demographic, was held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly National Arts Theatre, in Iganmu, with the theme: “Stories that move us”.
The Governor was joined by the Board chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Idris Olorunnimbe, Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Arts, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Idris Aregbe.
Also in attendance is the Olu of Warri Kingdom in Delta State, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, who led some of his chiefs.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on “Culture, Heritage and the Creator’s Responsibility”, noted that the narrative a storyteller use in portraying the image and identity an entity to the public mattered in the context of growth and development of such entity, stressing that stories create powerful tools to make or destroy an image.
The Governor described Lagos’ story as a mixed bag of positive and unsatisfactory stories, but said the State took its strength from the repeated narrative of its resourcefulness and energy which created a unique identity for the State.
He said: “One part of the story of Lagos is its unending chaos comes with heavy vehicular traffic. Another part of the narrative of Lagos is the inexhaustible creativity, a bust of activities and the energy of the masses. It’s a mixed bag of positive energy and unsatisfactory events. It is from these extreme circumstances that Lagos defines its identity.
“Identity of Lagos is fresh and original because it is shaped by its sheer strength and resilience. The energy in the city is unimaginable and the never-give-up spirit of the people is the unique selling point in the story of Lagos that is different from other big cities. After every achievement is another effort to surpass the level. So, Lagos has created an image and identity of a city that doesn’t stop. This is the basis of its growth and economic power.”
Sanwo-Olu said an image of a society portrayed by a storyteller would not only define the values through which the society would be judged alone but also how its people would be assessed. He said storytellers had a responsibility to project stories that would shape their environment’s image in positive ways.
Olu of Warri noted African societies had suffered distorted portrayal of their humanity from many narratives written by outsiders in a bid to subjugate the blacks. Africans, the monarch said, must tell their stories based on their histories to change wrong narratives that had trailed their societies.
Atuwatse III said countries that had good image in the world were not necessarily perfect societies, but ones that projected good stories about their socio-cultural lives to set direction for their histories.
The monarch urged storytellers and writers to write good stories that would form part of the history coming generations would inherit.
“Stories do not entertain nations, they shape them. Those who steward stories do not just preserve culture, they set the direction of history,” Olu of Warri said.