…as the school marks 35yr anniversary with an art festival
St Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu, Egbeda in Lagos State, celebrated its annual art festival held on June 20, 2026, at the school auditorium, showcasing a kaleidoscope of creative displays of art that define what the school stands for.
The event held under the theme: “Jesuit Art Festival” is in celebration of St. Francis Catholic Secondary School’s 35th anniversary since inception and in commemoration of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) academic goals in humanities and art.
The event featured a variety of shows that included a visual arts exhibition, well-curated works done in painting, drawings, textile designs, ceramics, and craft works by the students and staff of the School.
Other activities include creative dance by solo performance, poetic rendition by Ojo Annabel and Akindele Ayanfe, and spoken word performance by Bro Vincent. Sequel to that was a classical symphony Orchestra by the school band. This was also followed by a dance drama performed by guest student artistes from Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Meanwhile, the main attraction of the festival was the theatrical ‘Broadway’ performance by the School’s drama club featuring the famous work by Ola Rotimi titled: “The Gods are not to Blame.” The drama highlighted, among other things, the ills of society.
Students who featured in the drama showcased a classic display of vocal prowess and stage dexterity. The costumes were very colorful, depicting every sense of the drama’s plot and showing the Ijebu rural setting in Yorubaland as created by Ola Rotimi in his published work.
Speaking with the school Administrator, Reverend Father Francis Koshoffa SJ, he disclosed that nurturing talents is one of the school’s main goals.
“I am a Jesuit Priest and the Administrator of St Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu, Lagos. The programme is an annual creative art show called Jesuit Art Festival done every year to celebrate the dimensions of art: dance, drama, visual art, and music.
”It’s not only academic work we do at Jesuit schools. We also have time to engage in other curriculum that allows students to express themselves. We do this to nurture and produce talent.
Speaking further, he said, “Looking at the varieties of activities we have today, creativity takes precedence. In the art exhibition we had today, there are textile designs done in local tie and dye, Aso Oke weaving, ceramics, and paintings on display. After the art exhibition, we moved on to music. A symphony Orchestra was performed by the school band. And lastly, there were drama performances.
“The whole idea is to bring into focus other dimensions of academic work the school engages in. We have qualified staff who help to nurture the students to perform creatively beyond normal academic courses.
“At the art exhibition, we allowed the students to think out of the box and explore freedom of expression. One of the works of art on display, titled “Nigeria Today,” is a set of line drawings and cartoons that reflect that vision. It defines the state of the nation today as the students see it.
“Jesuit school is unique in terms of quality and morally based education. It has been in existence for over 400 years and has a presence across the globe. The school accommodates all faiths and doesn’t discriminate in its new intakes
“Our formation is holistic. It is built around spirit, body, and soul, to transform our students into better persons in society. We also train our students to conform to our goals which translates to compassion, commitment, competence, and conscientiousness,” Rev Fr. Koshoffa noted.
Explaining the magic behind the amazing performance, the School drama club coordinator, Mrs. Mercy Omozusi, disclosed that staging such a massive show was not easy, given that it was performed by young and upcoming student artistes.
“The drama came as a result of days and months of hard work, commitment, and dedication by the students and staff members.
“It amounts to concerted efforts by the performers because most of them were drawn from science and other subject courses not related to art, with few from art that make up the drama club. We groomed and encouraged them to put in their best regardless of their line of subject study.
“Another interesting thing is that the majority of the participants are not from Yoruba-speaking states. The greater number of them are Igbo-speaking students, including Edo and other tribes, who had to work hard to catch up with the storyline, as the play was set in the Ijebu tribe of Yorubaland.
”It was really difficult assembling the non-Yoruba speakers to perform such a dramatic act of the Yoruba culture. The costumes to match every episode were also a huge task, but we were able to overcome.
“The play, in retrospect, reflects the current situation in the country. It touched on the issues of leadership challenges, communal crisis, insecurity, and other societal crises,” she said.
According to her, the drama’s focus is a wake-up call to the government and everyone to think deeply and search for a solution to our numerous problems in the country.
“The drama also is to sensitise us to appreciate one another as a country despite our multiple ethnic and cultural differences, and to see Nigeria attain growth and peaceful coexistence among tribes,” said Mrs. Omozusi.
In the same vein, the School Head of the Art Department, Mrs. Alero Osegeh, while explaining the theme of the art exhibition, mentioned that it is in line with the celebration of St Francis School’s 35th anniversary.
“As we celebrate St Francis, we also want to put into perspective who we are as Africans and our identity as a people. We created works of art that reflected the current issues around the country. One of the numerous themes on display was “Nigeria today.”
She explained how students were able to describe in their own minds how they view Nigerian society today through their works. According to her, there is so much insecurity in land, leadership challenges, and moral issues that are hampering the country’s potential growth and peace.
“The drawings under that theme explained leadership issues, encouraging people to obtain their PVC cards as the election approaches, to enable them to elect a credible leader,” she said.
She also noted that the drawings were specially rendered to create awareness about the current insecurity challenges that put the lives of school children in danger.
