“As far as I can remember, I have always loved scribbling, drawing, painting, and visualizing imaginary things in the sky. I did it in my teenage years, and I still do it in my adult life,” he said.
Onoja only started to paint professionally in 1987, when he opened a studio, the Diadem Art Gallery. To refine his talent, he enrolled at Ahmadu Bello University, where he earned his first degree in fine and applied art. After his mandatory National Youth Service Corps, Onoja displayed some of his paintings at the NICON Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, and, after attaining a master’s degree at Ahmadu Bello University, enrolled for a doctorate in art history. After earning his doctorate in 2014, he then joined the University of Jos as a lecturer. But he never let go of his private studio engagement.
