Meet seven-year-old artist who got ₦2.5m, scholarship over Yayi’s portrait

Seven-year-old Nigerian artist Kendis received a full university scholarship and a ₦2.5 million cash gift after his portrait of Ogun State governorship candidate Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, gained widespread attention online.

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My name is Kendis. I am an artist. Let me tell you how it started.

The young artist was honored on Sunday at Senator Adeola’s Scholarship and Bursary Award Ceremony. He presented the original portrait to the senator, an act that drew applause from attendees who viewed it as encouragement for young talents.

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Every time my dad gives me rice, he will say, ‘There is no egg o, Kendis, ko s’owo, manage. Things will get better soon.’

The portrait first gained traction on TikTok through Kendis's father's account, @noahs_ark.ng. In an emotional video, Kendis shared his artistic inspiration, stating he wanted to "paint tomorrow today" rather than passively await a better future. He recounted his father's frequent phrases about managing with limited resources and the promise of "things will get better soon."

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So I told him, instead of waiting for tomorrow to come, let us paint tomorrow today. Let us paint the future now… so we don’t have to wait any longer for tomorrow that never comes.

Kendis questioned his father about the meaning of "soon" and "tomorrow," realizing that tomorrow never seemed to arrive. This led him to express his hope through art, aiming to manifest the future immediately rather than waiting. "Through the eye of a little child, we painted our future now," he explained.

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Through the eye of a little child, we painted our future now.