Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping to the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depends very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however these dangers have been largely overcome. Recording on audio and video cassettes now show not what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when

Every artist’s work unless he be a hermit, creating solely for his own satisfaction and with on need of sales, is to some extent ‘socially conditioned’, He depends upon the approval of his patrons. Social conditioning is of course part of the field of study of the social anthropologist, yet I am not aware that the social conditioning of artists has ever been seriously studied. That such study is needed for the proper appraisal of traditional African art is evident enough when we note the ingenuous assumption, current in many writing on the subject, that the carver’s hand is so closely controlled by the custom of centuries that the credit for any creative imagination which is apparent in his work is due not to him but to the long succession of his predecessors. Of course, there is an element of truth in this view of the tribal as copyist; but it is hardly more valid for the Africa than for the European artist. In both cases the work of art is the outcome of a dialectic between the informing tradition and the individual genius of the artist, and in both the relative strength of these two forces may vary almost infinitely. To assess the personal ingredient in an African carving is no easy matter, especially if one is confronted with a rare or unique piece in an unfamiliar style; but the considerations involved are much the same as those employed in European art criticism.

I was to remember my first day at Freedom University for a long time. On arrival on campus, I expected to be met by some stale students (as was the practice in my secondary school) but every student around was new like myself. I asked the way to Grant Hall but not one could tell me. I asked a number of other questions about issues that bothered me, such as where and how to pay the fees, the way to the dining hall and so on but no help was forthcoming. So in the midst of so many people, I am all alone, I mused to myself. The prospect was not in the least cheerful and all the elation I had felt at gaining entry into a renowned university at sixteen been to disappear. Then so if propelled by an unknown benevolent force, I walked a little bit down the corridor in the direction of notice board at which some ten young men and women were peering. For want of something to do, I decided to stop and look at the notice board. Alas! I had opened on the key to all the riddles that had dribbled me since I set foot on campus that morning. On the board there was a big campus map in which I was able to locate Grant Hall and other places of interest, there were details of various activities lined up for the three days of orientation for freshmen and a comprehensive list of those offered admission into various courses. How blissful I felt to see the light of knowledge , having been wallowing in the darkness of ignorance. Even then I was not able to escape the thought that I could not be sure how much of the responsibility for the darkness was mine, the fact that something had not been done to draw attention to 5that apocalypse of the notice board had contributed clearly to my initial predicament. All that notwithstanding, I learnt from the incident an importance of reading notice boards and handbills if one is to be informed about places and events in the university.