 Gweithio. Mae'n ffrwng ychwaneg yma yn ymgyrch. Ysgolwyddon. Gweithio gan gwaith. Ymgyrch yn gyntaf, mae'n ddigwyddor yw'n ffrwng i ddiweddu'r cyfreidd as weithio i'r ysgrifennu yw'r ddechrau ac mae'n gweithio, mae'n ddweud o'r ddweud o'r ddweud yw'r ddweud mae'r ffeilwyr yn ei ddweud, mae'n gweithio i'r ddweud. Grannu is always a special time. We all regret that Gracia isn't here, because she's a formidable strong African woman. My name is Sokari, and I am a fellow of SOAS, which I'm very proud of and honoured to be here with you today. SOAS is one of the finest universities in the world, truly global in scope and reach, and its distinct specialist knowledge of Asia, Africa and the Middle East is renowned. SOAS offers a truly distinctive opportunity for students and academic staff to experience on a daily basis the interaction, connectivity and exposure which is a microcosm of today's world. For more than a hundred years, SOAS has been at the forefront of specialist scholarship on languages, culture, society, politics, economics of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It is rare to find a place with such rich diversity of cultures, backgrounds and where learning and critical thinking are nurtured and enhanced. What makes SOAS particularly special is its global perspective. Our world needs people who can build bridges across communities and cultures and really make a difference. This is where I hope to say a little bit more that is more like me. SOAS has always been a welcoming institution and my career as a sculptor is indebted to being supported by scholars here who could understand my embracing my Nigerian heritage as well as my adopted heritage here in London. I'm going to try to describe this dual connection with images of my work and stories of how the pieces came about. I have two sculptures, as Valerie has said, that are outside the Brunai Gallery, which were part of the Sainte-Tinou celebration, but behind that these heads are to celebrate women who wear gili, head ties. This is an appraisal of women like me. Gili is a name given to a type of West African head tie. My heads are connected to Yoruba philosophy. The word for head in Yoruba, ori, carries physical and spiritual connotations that cannot be separated. The ori defines the body. Other parts of the body are answerable to it. An ori holds the body's knowledge and its destiny. I love the idea that nothing is as it seems. There are layers to every aspect of life. In making these pieces I fantasise that these cultures were monolithic finds discovered by archaeologists. These heads have been dug out of my imagination and it is informed by my surroundings. Here in the West so much that is discovered is discussed. This is a freedom that artists can participate with. My work is very physical and it deals with a variety of themes, identity, history and politics. The main piece I want to describe is a memorial to Ken Sarawiva. Some of you might have heard of him. The Nigerian writer and activist. I believe he was Africa's first environmental activist as well as the first to write a book in Pigeon English. The sculpture that I made in 2006 for Ken was a battle bus. We are all familiar with battle buses now because they are used for political campaigns. Our nearest example is Brexit. This bus was to publicise the plight of the Niger Delta. To remember Ken and the Ogoni 8 who were executed for speaking up against Shell and the regime in Nigeria at the time. Why did this commission happen? It happened because people in activist organisations such as PEN and Platform, an artist led environmental group, wanted to celebrate and remember a remarkable man and his fight for the people of the Niger Delta. A lot of artists competed for this commission and I won with another artist called Siraj Isar. He was unable to complete his work because our patron died. His idea had been to create what we now call an app for phones and he was hoping that his work would be able to project images on the House of Commons with the app and other people participating or creating something like Twitter. All this was in 2004 when a lot of us would not have known what these tools were. My proposal was created as it was more direct and easier to realise. I made my version of a full-sized stainless steel Nigerian bus with Ken's words which were I accuse the oil companies of practicing genocide against the Ogoni. Ken said these words in one of his last interviews before his execution and I cut these words into the stainless steel walls with my plasma cutter or metal cutter. The bus toured England for nearly ten years stationed outside Goldsmiths, the Guardian Officers, the South Bank. It went outside London as well and people questioned who are the Ogoni and what is this about because of what they read as they walked around the sculpture. This was the main exercise which was to make the Ogoni visible. In 2015 we decided that the battle bus could now go home to Nigeria where it was to be stationed in Ken Sarawiva's hometown. The environmental activists in Ogoni land wanted to see the bus and to encourage a clean-up campaign. The bus was taken to Tilbury on the River Thames to be put on a container ship. It was put on a special platform with giant girders that made the sculpture look small. The platform was being shunted onto the ship by cable as it was being moved onto the boat a cable snapped. The platform sank into the riverbed with the sculpture. We were not immediately told about this accident until three days later. The Port of London Authority had to send frogmen into the dock to find the best way of getting everything out. The bus was obstructing the dock. Other boats could not come in or load on or off as they would have been damaged by the platform and the sculpture. This has been one of the biggest shocks of my career but life is an adventure you guys will find out. The bus was salvaged and brought out of the dock covered in silt but not too badly damaged. We worked hard polishing it and straightening all that was bent by the force of the accident and sent it on the next boat to Nigeria. When the bus got to Nigeria it was arrested and locked up by customs. The Ogoni activists on the ground were not allowed to claim their gift and to this day we are not sure if the bus has been destroyed or is standing somewhere in Lagos dock. This has been the situation for three years. I think that this adventure has made the bus bigger than it ever was. The text that was cut out on the bus is projected by daylight onto the inside of the walls and the floor and the words swim around. This was not planned but it seems very appropriate for a memorial to a writer. Mossop and the other activists in the Ogoni land are trying to get the bus released through the courts in Nigeria. I really admire their courage and perseverance and the fact that they are fighting in Nigeria. I continue to work with references to oil because my home is in the Niger Delta and the power of oil is overwhelming. Everything we use today seems to be a by-product of petroleum, plastic bags, acrylic paint, some clothing, dyes and the lipstick that I'm wearing today. I would like to empower people who are in oil producing countries to realise that they are part of the western development and we are in this together. It is up to us to save our environment and to design our lives conscientiously. After all, we have invented the most incredible products. Life should not only be about wealth. How naive is that? It should be about humanity. As an artist, I understand that art can be used to question society as well as to celebrate it. Graduants, the button is passed to you. You have the tools from SOAS to change the world. Congratulations to each and every one of you. You will always be part of SOAS and SOAS will always be part of you. Thank you.