This unveiling coincides with the 2025 Aje festival, during which Oba Ogunwusi bestowed his royal endorsement for economic prosperity on the L’Extinction artwork at the Ooni’s palace, Adire Oduduwa, and Art Gallery.
At the event, Queen Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi articulated that “L’Extinction also means ‘No to extinction’ artwork which was produced by Olapeju Twins and artist Olulaja Akeredolu from the endangered thorn trees which has almost disappeared from our forest. The disappearance of thorn trees was due to logging and deforestation activities of human beings.”
He remarked,“Thorn carving artwork we are unveiling today is the most important piece of thorn carving in history because it is the first artistic carving that accurately tells us to say ‘No To Extinction’.”
The queen further elaborated that this artwork aims to revive the tradition of thorn carvings, originally developed by the renowned artist Chief Justus Akeredolu from Owo in the 1930s, which is now at risk of fading away.
“Thorn Carving, which is an excellent illustration of African culture, was invented in Nigeria in the 1930s, about the same time that Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter in Denmark, created Lego wooden toys.
“Lego is now a multi-million dollar toy industry and has produced over 600 billion Logo toys, whereas our iconic miniature tree thorn carving has almost gone into extinction”. she emphasized.
She also noted that “the artwork's value is inscribed on its frame as €93 million, equivalent to ₦14.16 billion. This valuation aims to elevate the status of thorn carving, which originated in Nigeria, to that of Lego toys, which were created in Denmark in 1932.”
In her statement, Ambassador for Environment, Ms. Olapeju Olayemi, articulated that the immense artistic value arises not only from the stark reality of thorn trees but also from the significance of the royal hand-woven garments that encase the thorns, along with the intriguing history of thorn carving and the creation of Lego toys in 1932.