Aji Jobe brings pride home: Young Gambian Oscar of African Creativity awardee

2,673

By MOMODOU JARJU

Hailed from Lamin village, about 21 kilometers from the capital Banjul, Aji Ndumbeh Jobe, is a lady with a mission of selling her country’s creativity globally.

In September from 1-10 2019, Ms. Jobe, majoring Arts and Social and Environmental Studies at the Gambia College, journeyed to Egypt in Aswan to participate in a competition called the Oscar of African Creativity organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Egypt. The event brought together female and male arty talented youth across the continent to showcase their talents for awards.

Jobe from The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa, and home to talented young artistes, who strive through the conduit to thrive, received two certificates of participation in poetry and painting categories, plus two awards after the competition.

Three Gambians submitted their work samples for consideration but it was her who got the green light from the organizers. Jobe was asked to participate by the African Youth for Development Commission (AYDEC), an organization having country representatives in over thirty countries in Africa, which The Gambia is not an exception. The organization is with a mission to provide a Youth-driven workable platform towards ensuring real development with sustainable narratives for the African Region.

There was age limit in this year’s event, pegged at 25 years upwards. Jobe was below the age but she was able to convince the organizers that she could compete.

She said the reason for the age limit as explained to her was that last year, teenagers were allowed to participate but some of them absconded instead of returning to their respective countries.

“They expect when you are 25 upwards, you are responsible. If you are not working, you have a family or have something else to do in your country,” she added.

Jobe’s feeling from the get-go at the competition was the attention of her success story. At the beginning, she said she was a little bit guilty because she was the smallest in terms of her size and age likewise she was from a small country. She tells us her reason to be proud.

“So I have a little Gambian flag crossed on me. And sometimes the participants would ask me… which country is this? And I say The Gambia. And they would be like where? South Africa, where? I said West Africa. And they would be like, which neighboring country? I would tell them do you know Senegal, they would say yeah, we know Senegal. I would tell them neighboring country to Senegal. I was like how about if I don’t win?”

Interestingly, Jobe said she had to explain to people that her country is neighboring Senegal for them to know where she is from. “But despite that I feel excited because I feel big at the end of the day,” she said.

The young poetess cum painter won a poetry and painting award. She was the third runner up for the painting and second for the poetry categories. No money was awarded to the winners but they were given free shopping trips where they visited African markets to purchase clothes and shoes, Jobe said.

Jobe, an excited awardee said thereafter, “After our finals everybody was like Gambia right. I said yes. I was a little bit bluffing just for the fact that I am from a small nation which is not very much recognized and then I come up with these (awards). I was very inspired for the fact that people would called me come let’s take pictures with you flag. And this was really one of my best moments. It was one of my best moments this year.”

She said the award is a stepping stone for her because it is a dream come true. Meanwhile, the talented young painter has a dream. She wants the Gambia government and youth in particular to invest in skills and creativity, which she believes is the only way for a nation to develop.

“We do not want people that would sit in officers. There are outstanding writers, painters etc. but they need a bit of lifting,” she said.

She added that the world is now a digital one and as such, creativity cannot be left out. “We need handy works. We things that people can just think and create something. We need our brains to not only stick to the mobile phone but we need our brains to create something.”