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…Elizabeth, wife of travel environmentalist, opens up on their marriage, her husband’s desert trips and life as curator
By Agatha Emeadi
Chief Elizabeth Ifeyinwa Jibunoh is a woman of multiple competencies and capabilities who is a certified mind psychologist, co-founder of Didi Museum and Chairman, Elizabeth Jibunoh Art Foundation (EJAF).
Despite gracefully reaching 70 years, the biblical milestone age, she has continued to break into new frontiers as the chairman/chief executive, Ridgewood Wellness Sanctuary.
The elegant septuagenarian holds a traditional title and is the wife of Chief Newton Jibunoh, an environmentalist.
In this interview, she reveals the reason for her youthful look as she talked about her passionate engagement with life and pursuits.
You come across as someone who sees life from a different perspective. What does life mean to you now?
For me, life moves from one phase to another. What I have seen in my journey is that every state and stage brings its challenges. I do not call them problems, rather challenges because when you consider them as problems, they weigh in and sit as problems which bring the fellow down, but when they are called challenges, then you roll up your sleeves, face them and take them out of the way. A challenge energizes, excites and encourages one to overcome whatever the situation is. Some of them could be problems actually, but the interpretation and attitude around it say a lot. With my training, I have also chosen not to worry about anything because there is nothing that starts today that will not evolve its way out. It definitely will, whether one tries or not, it will only be there for a season, but must surely go. So, when you worry about something you cannot change, have no control of, what are you trying to do? One is rather creating a disease for himself or herself. But when a matter one cannot control rears its head, take a backward step, analyze it from a place of ease, calm down. With a lot of concentration, one would find out that in the course of that, the universe will create a solution. Then again, a lot of people are very secretive, they do not share. Note that we can never exist on our own. The beauty of this world is that it was created with other people, not one alone. So, no matter what the problem is, if you are able to share it, other pairs of ears would hear and before you know it, the universe will activate. It is called co-creation with the universe. The universe activates.
Why use the word universe instead of God?
I like to use the word universe because sometimes, when one says God, people take it into a religious concept which is why I do not like to use God. Do not get me wrong, I am a strong Anglican Christian. Therefore, who is the owner of the universe and originator of the source? It is God. I understand why God created this universe, it is for us to understand how the universe works, you cannot go round it on your own. The greatest secret of this universe is that whatever it is you want, you can get it; just manifest it. If you want a big house, hold onto that vision and share it with everybody, it will come to you. Do not shiver in what you want, be specific and focus on one, so as not to confuse the universe. I just came out of a body of learning, learning about the intricacies of the mind. I am a strong advocate of a paradigm shift with the health of the mind to control one’s destiny. I recall when I was a young girl, my mother had a relative she was not too comfortable with. Whenever she was around, my mother would complain. So, one day I said, ‘Mummy tell her.’ My mum retorted to me and said, ‘how can I tell her?’ I said mummy you are on your own. When I grow up, I will live in a big white house and will have a small window where I would look through to drive people I do not want around me. Guess what, when my husband and I built this house, without remembering my vision, I have a window in my bathroom. When I stand there, I am looking at the gate; I used that pigeonhole to tell who I do not welcome in my home.
But when you merely said it to your mother, you did not follow up because you would have forgotten as a young girl?
But it was my subconscious that manifested it. One must understand that there is a conscious construct and there is a subconscious. Our body is three in one: the soul, spirit and the body. The soul is our connection to God Almighty, the spirit is the gateway between the soul and the physical construct. So, what does the spirit do? It checks what gets into the soul and that is why we have the conscience. The conscience will always be there to reprimand our negative actions. The soul is the God-part of us because somehow it monitors and guides us. There are so many things we take for granted without truly understanding it.
What are these new areas of study that have enabled this to evolved?
Interestingly, apart from my studies at the City University of London, where I obtained a Master’s Degree in Museum and Gallery Management, I was also in Holland’s Boerma Institut to study professional Floral Design. Then, I studied mind psychology, life coaching, specialized in wellness coaching, emotional freedom techniques, then neuro linguistic programme, all of them are under mind psychology. I did all of this last year. I took out one year and went back to school. Why did I do that? I decided it was time to break into new frontiers. It was time to evolve, become a higher version of myself. I looked at all the challenges in the past and said the past does not define who I am. So, the me that I know is capable of doing this and I challenged myself until I got it right. Was it easy? It was not easy at all. Some days, I would stare at my laptop and ask myself ‘who sent you? I would call my mates, who would assist one way or the other. I saw the end from the beginning, I knew what I could do and went ahead to get it right.
Why did you go into mind psychology instead of pursuing an MBA?
There is a lot of creativity in the arts world. Our life is about creation. Everything we do on a daily basis is about creation, we are co-creating with the universe. While making a paradigm shift with the health, the space allows you to understand the unburdensome nature of life. You imagine and translate to the viewer to see your imagination, to get into your head and understand your fault. The same way you can translate it into every other thing you are doing in life. It does not really have to be the area of the art where that kind of transference occurs in life. Yesterday for instance, I woke up and my body refused to wake up. I had two options either to challenge my body or succumb to the state of the body. I decided to challenge my body and drove to Eko Atlantic where I love to view the sea as well for a one-hour walk. The first 10 minutes were rugged, but within a short time, my body woke up. I had a complete full day. It is when I look at days like yesterday, I come to understand that we are the only ones holding ourselves. One can create the world we have deliberately with the understanding that the power is in our own hands. Once one understands this sequence in life, life will come handy. Because we have sub-contracted that creation to somebody else, if the mind is articulated powerfully and stays on course, we will get it. Sometimes, it comes easily, sometimes it is delayed, it depends on the manifestation of one’s mind.
With your thoughts far away from a real Lagos showwoman, where are we taking the learning to?
Let us all understand that everyone that is born into the world comes through a particular background which also cultures the person. There are nurturers in the background who are parents, family, then the extended family members. That is one system. Then that system is carried to school, where people from other homes with their own system rubs off on the person. With all these systems learnt over the years, by the time one gets to the university, the system becomes culturized and all would be used to enter the system of marriage. The two systems might not align properly because certainly, one is more dominant. So, what do you do with the two systems? Now the Lagos show woman who has not been seen outside is definitely not exhibiting her cultural system. She is rather taking a new system from what she is seeing from the new environment called Lagos, and she is adapting to that new system; whatever that is seen outside is a miss-normal. it is not the original culture.
When your husband, Chief Newton Jibuno was making his London trips by road, were you part of those trips?
Well, in the sense that I was in background curating, I would say yes. But the trip was his and I believe initially he was rather unsure whether I would come in or not, but rightfully. I wasn’t really brought into it from the get go, but by the time I got into it fully, I brought my area of expertise, final details just to make sure that the trip would be comfortable enough for him and, of course, travelled with him as far as the end of Nigeria before he started his journey. I would also say in retrospect now, it was a very interesting time because we all needed to conquer fear for that trip to occur. In his case, there was no procrastination for him and that was why he succeeded. He did not waiver, because a lot of people including myself tried to talk him out of it; dissuade him, but he had his vision. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. Now, borrowing from this leaf was exactly what I was talking about. For example, when you have a goal, define what exactly you want, perfectly, very well and hold on to that vision. It works out perfectly. He saw himself inside the trip, living in it and what people said did not matter. So, it is that focus that creates the ball. Chief is a dreamer and visionary. The world depends on dreamers. A dreamer came up with a laptop, telephone, financial instruments etc. They dreamt it and focused on it to become a reality. All of these did not exist before, but people dreamt of them, focused on the vision and it became a reality. My body of knowledge tells me that before you pray, make sure you have manifested what you want from God. Don’t just kneel down and pray. Manifest it, itemize it, dream the colour and take it to God in prayers. When you have manifested, have the vision, go ahead and affirm it. Then take it to God in prayers. It is called MAP in mind psychology. When we are looking for something, hold your focus and keep manifesting because this is power that the black nation does not hold. When whatever you want manifests, don’t stop, keep going, keep exploring new views. Even in our prayer world, it says, let the weak say I am strong, do not acknowledge any weakness in you. Again, when people say poverty is not my portion, they are acknowledging that poverty is their portion because the subconsciousness does not understand the word ‘not’. Instead of saying poverty is not my portion, say I am rich.
Your life pursuits do not reflect what you studied in the UK? Where are you heading?
I studied History and Language from University of Ilorin and completed in University of Lagos. My Master’s degree was in Museum and Gallery Management and I stayed with that and did all kinds of things. I went into the floral world and had another Master’s degree in Floral Artistry in Holland. Knowledge and learning is not about the things you have learnt, it is also about life, the challenges that have coloured your journey, they all make someone stand out.
How did you meet Chief Jibunoh and what has kept you together over the years?
Well, to me the tenacity you bring into a relationship is what matters, and not the meeting point. Marriage is a tapestry, what made mine work might not make another one work. Wherever the mind is tuned to that is where the energy goes to. The most important thing in marriage is where your focus is. Are you in control of your mind, do you understand who you are? What is your purpose in life? Solving a problem is part of your purpose? At the end of the day, you give meaning and sustainability to life.
Are you also an environmentalist like your husband?
Are we not all? We are all connected in everything in this world. The world is one global village.
As a wellness coach, what advice do you have for both old and young?
First of all, have an audit of yourself. Who am I, who am I not? You will begin to understand if you like to work or not. What excites you? Our body must move, the more you move it, the fitter you become. If we refuse to move the body, it remains in that rigid state where blood is not flowing and oxygen is not circulating in the body. Secondly, you must drink water and if you don’t replenish it what do you do? Again, what do you eat? What food audit have you done? Do you know the number of cells that die and new ones that come up? You must eat your vegetables, fruits, right oil. There is nothing wrong with swallowing, but the quantity and amount of vegetables matters. If the concentration of fat is in the stomach, why kill the stomach with all the carbohydrates?
