Jelili Atiku Denied U.S. Visa, Stages Borderless...

On the edge of the Ilaje waterfront in Bariga, Lagos, Nigeria, where wooden canoes rest beside polluted waters and makeshift homes overlook mounds of plastic waste, an extraordinary procession unfolded. Men and women clothed in flowing white garments, their faces hidden beneath raffia and broad, woven hats, walked solemnly through the community, balancing earthen bowls. Leading them was performance artist Jelili Atiku, his body painted white and adorned with layers of colourful beads. 

For residents, it was an unusual spectacle. Throughout the procession, sacred symbolism coexisted with ordinary community life. Children watched curiously from doorways. Residents paused their daily routines. Boats floated quietly nearby as ritual unfolded amid the realities of one of Lagos’ vulnerable waterfront settlements.

Titled: My Orí Is Kótùbà Kótùṣẹ, a nomadic performance created for Borderless Collaboration, Thinking, and Living, an artistic initiative connecting Lagos, Nigeria, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. Rather than taking place in a single venue, the project unfolded simultaneously in both cities, with each performance projected live onto screens in the other location, creating a shared virtual performance space across continents.

The concept was ambitious: two communities separated by thousands of kilometres would witness one another in real time, using contemporary technology to collapse the distance between them. Yet the project also carried an irony that became impossible to ignore.

Originally, Atiku and three of his collaborators, Faniyi Omoyeni Awoniran, Ifadare Olajide Ige-Adubi, and Ifamuyiwa Akinwunmi Awoniran, were expected to travel to the United States to perform in person on April 4, 2026. Each collaborator is deeply rooted in Yoruba Indigenous religious practice, bringing decades of knowledge of Ifá philosophy and ritual traditions.

But changes to the United States visa policy prevented them from making the journey. Rather than cancelling the project, the artists transformed the obstacle into the central idea of the work itself. Physical borders became part of the performance, exposing how political decisions can interrupt artistic exchange while demonstrating that creative dialogue can continue through alternative means.

The title, My Orí Is Kótùbà Kótùṣẹ, draws from Yoruba philosophical thought. In Yoruba belief, orí represents far more than the physical head; it is one’s spiritual consciousness, destiny and inner guide. Throughout the performance, Atiku explored the relationship between individual destiny and collective responsibility, asking how societies respond when human movement, cultural knowledge and artistic expression are restricted.

Notwithstanding the obstacle, Atiku chose the Ilaje waterfront, a community confronting severe environmental degradation. The performers processed through narrow pathways lined with refuse, stagnant water and fragile wooden structures. Against this backdrop, the immaculate white costumes became striking symbols of ritual purification confronting visible ecological neglect.

The imagery was deliberate. Earthen vessels balanced above the performers’ heads suggested both burden and resilience. Raffia concealed individual identities, shifting attention from the performer to the collective body. White body paint transformed Atiku into a liminal figure existing between the physical and spiritual worlds, while the towering masquerade evoked ancestral presence and the continuity of Indigenous knowledge.

This intersection between spirituality and lived experience has long characterised Atiku's practice. His performances rarely exist as isolated aesthetic events. Instead, they occupy public spaces where questions of power, ecology and human rights become inseparable from everyday life.

The Ilaje performance, therefore, became more than a response to visa restrictions. It evolved into a meditation on environmental injustice, displacement and the persistence of cultural identity despite political barriers.

According to Atiku, the project speaks to broader concerns about human advancement through cultural exchange. While immigration policies may regulate physical movement, they cannot entirely contain artistic imagination. The live connection between Lagos and Fayetteville demonstrated that collaboration remains possible even when borders intervene.

The participation of Yoruba Indigenous religious practitioners further grounded the performance in living cultural traditions rather than historical reconstruction. Their presence affirmed that Yoruba philosophy continues to offer contemporary ways of thinking about community, responsibility and coexistence in a rapidly changing world.

In an era marked by increasing restrictions on movement and growing environmental crises, My Orí Is Kótùbà Kótùṣẹ reminds audiences that performance art can function simultaneously as ritual, protest and public dialogue.

The images from Ilaje linger long after the procession ends: white-robed figures moving through refuse-strewn streets; a body transformed by ritual markings; a towering ancestral form crossing a fragile waterfront; and a community witnessing contemporary art unfold within its own landscape.

What emerges is not simply documentation of a performance but evidence of art's enduring ability to bridge distances that politics seeks to widen. Even when borders close, culture continues to travel through art, technology, shared experience and the determination of artists who refuse to let geography define the limits of human connection.

By Udemma Chukwuma

Photo credit: Courtesy of Jelili Atiku.

Editor's note: My Orí Is Kótùbà Kótùṣẹ was presented on April 4, 2026, as part of Borderless Collaboration, Thinking, and Living, a transnational artistic programme linking Fayetteville, Arkansas (USA), and Lagos, Nigeria, through simultaneous live performance.