The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • ‘Access The Stars’ talent hunt heads to Lagos

    By Precious Onuigbo

    Following a successful outing in Abeokuta, Nigeria’s music reality TV show, Access The Stars, will be heading to Lagos for the next round of auditions and concert.

    The Abeokuta stop of Access The Stars, saw the likes of Small Doctor, Reekado Banks, Q-dot, Olamide, and Orezi grace the stage as they all delivered unforgettable performances.

    The judges; TeeY Mix, Kaffy and Seyi Shay had the tough task of selecting the talents to proceed to the Bootcamp in Lagos, and after a night of some stunning performances, two talented singers made the cut.

    The show is quickly garnering major attention due to its impressive production value and its exciting lineup of headline acts who are set to perform alongside these talented stars.

    Read Also: The justice court Reality TV show to debut

     

    To participate, log on to accessthestars.ng to register to audition at a location near you. The Lagos auditions will be held at LTV Car Park, Agidingbi, on the 26th and 27th, while the Friday concert is slated for Ikeja City Mall.

    Access The Stars is a brainchild of two of Nigeria’s brands, who are teaming up for a mega opportunity to discover new music talents across the country. The new talent hunt which is sponsored by Star Lager Beer and Access Bank will give exceptional Nigerians the chance to perform alongside Nigeria’s biggest stars, while the winner of the show will walk home with up to 150 million Naira in cash and prizes.

    Access The Stars music reality show will air on Hip TV, Africa Magic, and Views Channel. Music lovers can expect to see the very best talents grace the stage during the course of the groundbreaking music competition.

     

  • ‘I’m coasting to a beautiful end of year’

    By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

    Multi-lingual actress Maureen Okpoko, who recently won two different awards, said she is grateful that her efforts and hard-work have been recognised.

    In a chat with The Nation, the actress who revealed that she has another one coming up in December said, the year ended well on a good note for her.

    “I am honoured and humbled. I feel on top of the world,” she said in an excited voice.

    “I feel so over the moon. Who are am I? This shows that my efforts and hard-work are being recognised. I have had five awards so far this year which includes The Ambassador for African Culture Nollywood. I have another award to receive on December 8. “

    Read Also: Dr. Sid to host Beatz Awards

    On ending the year on a good note, the actress said she is gearing up for next year; with lots of work and personal projects in line.

    “None before the year runs out, but gearing up towards next year though,” she said.

    “This year came with its challenges which have been surmounted. I am coasting towards a beautiful end of year.”

    Okpoko, who is of Jamaican descent and a native of Anambra State, speaks English, Igbo, and Patwa. She came into acting in 2013 with a role in the movie, ‘Golden Egg’, starring alongside Justus Esiri and others. She was nominated for Africa Academy Award for Best Actress in supporting role in  2016, and have starred in numerous television series such as Clinic Matters, Dear Mother, and others.

     

  • The Experience holds December 6

    The House on the Rock Church has announced the details of the 2019 edition of gospel music concert, The Experience Lagos. The concert will be holding on Friday, December 6, 2019 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos from 7pm till dawn.

    The 14th edition of the concert has ‘Let’s Worship Jesus’ as its theme.

    Some award-winning Nigerian and international gospel artistes scheduled to grace The Experience stage this year include Travis Greene, Sinach, Nathaniel Bassey, Don Moen, Donnie McClurkin, Tope Alabi, Planetshakers, Chioma Jesus, Eben, , Sammie Okposo, The Lagos Metropolitan Gospel Choir including newcomers to The Experience stage – Todd Dulaney, Mercy Chinwo and Preye Odede.

    Read Also: Sanmi Conga excites with ‘Gospel According to Percussion’ Concert

     

    The Experience began in 2006 and it has since evolved into a melting pot where hundreds of thousands of people regardless of class, race, tribe, tradition, colour and religion gather to worship and praise God from dusk till dawn.

    According to its convener, the Senior Pastor of The House On The Rock Churches, Pastor Paul Adefarasin: “The Experience is a significant contributor to both our National and State economies through tourism and its associated businesses. Entrepreneurs have developed and birthed various enterprises, which substantially contribute to the economy in areas of human capital development, hospitality, commerce and industry.”

     

  • Ruth Kadiri shows off daughter

    Nollywood actress and producer, Ruth Kadiri, who has been sharing the joy of motherhood on her social media handles has finally unveiled the face of her daughter.

    The actress was spotted in a brown skinned top and black trouser looking adorably at her daughter in a sitting room.

    She welcomed her first child, Ezerika, with her husband in August 2019, in faraway Sweden. Though it is still a mystery who the father of her child is as she has kept that part of her life secret.

    Read Also: Nollywood legendary movie ‘Living in Bondage, ’gets sequel

     

    Ruth shared the photos on Instagram with the caption “Ezerika”, and attached a love emoji to the post.

    Ruth, a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and Business Administration from Yaba College Of Technology, is also a screenwriter.

     

  • Music finds expression in November

    Fondly called November, Adebukonla Kukoyi, a Lagos-based gospel music artiste, has recently released her official debut single titled ‘Don’t Pass Me By.’

    November is also a saxophonist gradually creating a niche for herself in the jazz genre.

    Though unusual that she bears November, it becomes less mysterious as she was born in the month of November, precisely November 28. The affinity for the month translates into adopting it as her pet name.

    Read Also: Tuface, other artistes stage concert

     

    She joined the church choir by the age of 10. She creates music that will appeal to ‘Core Christians’ and the general public as a whole. After all, Jesus didn’t come for the saved but the unsaved.

    In the not-so-distant future, November hopes to become a household name, inspiring people across the world to live their best lives, trust God freely and be who they truly were created to be.

     

  • This is a fresh start, says Iyanya

    By Adeniyi Adewoyin

    Singer Iyanya has said that his soon-to-be released Extended Play, ‘The Rebirth’, will be the beginning of a new journey.

    The project fame winner held an exclusive EP listening party over the weekend for the media and friends in Ikeja, Lagos

    Iyanya, who has been underground for a while, stated that his new EP which will be out on all music platforms on December 6 is nothing but good music.

    “This is a fresh beginning for me,” he said.

    Read Also: Burna Boy is AFRIMMA’s 2019 Artist of The Year

     

    “What I always tell people is that don’t ever feel like you’ve arrived. I’m not one of those people who always feel like I’ve always been here, I like to feel like I just got in. 2008 till now is eleven years. So these are brand new jams, you’re going to see a new Iyanya, brand new collaborations but same OG.”

    Speaking further on the EP, Iyanya stated that he is fully back to doing music and as from now, it will be hits after hits.

    “The rebirth is a 7 track EP. I’ve been recording for a while and as I speak with you my album is ready. The rebirth means we are back like we never left so we are ready to drop more songs and won’t stop. The rebirth tour starts next year, we are going to tour universities in Nigeria and also go to northern Amsterdam and Europe.”

    However, during his performance, Iyanya hinted that he is ready to marry.

    “I  believe that at least one day me self I go settle down”, said the Kukere crooner.

    “So remember when I started performing, I said ‘I be man of faith.’

  • ‘God’s greatest gift to Nigeria is culture’

    By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

    It was a colourful celebration of cultural diplomacy last Sunday as no fewer than 24 countries’ ambassadors, diplomats, contingents of 12 states of the federation and culture workers witnessed the closing ceremony of this year’s 12th International Arts and Craft (INAC) Expo in Abuja. To commemorate the cultural diplomacy day, every guest in the hall waved a white handkerchief to usher in peace across the globe.

    The expo, which had as theme Networking Nigerian arts to the world, was held from November 20 to 24.

    Former Imo State Governor and Chairman, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Rochas Okorocha, said no nation could grow beyond its culture and tradition, adding that the greatest gift to Nigeria is its culture and traditions. This, he said, is why nations protect their cultures and traditions jealously.

    “Every nation in the world is created by God with their traditions and culture. Government is only a guide. No nation can grow beyond its culture and tradition. That is why nations protect their cultures and traditions. The greatest gift of God to us as a nation is our culture and tradition. So, when you hear people say “the giant of Africa”, they are simply talking about our culture and tradition. Nigeria has one of the best cultures and traditions in the world,” he added.

    Okorocha, who was chairman on the occasion, noted that the days of over reliance on oil as the only source of revenue for the country was beginning to change, saying: “Before now, oil has been the mainstay of our economy. But now, we are beginning to realise that oil can no longer sustain our economy, we are opting for culture, tourism and tradition. We have started promoting our music.”

    Read Also: As our culture decays

     

    Okorocha recalled that few years ago foreign music from America, England and others dominated the scene in Nigeria, but that now music was going out from Nigeria to the rest of the world. He said Nigeria’s flag was flying in other countries of the world through our music. “Our musicians are now more popular than us political leaders. In fact, Wizkid, Davido and others are more popular than governors and senators of this country,” Okorocha said.

    He commended Otunba Runsewe for the excellent job he is doing by promoting our culture and peace in Nigeria. He also praised the Chinese (who participated in the 2019 INAC) for their perseverance initially when they started producing things which were ridiculed as being inferior. “But today, Chinese products are among the bests in the world.

    “In the 1980s in Aba, we were producing shoes, spare parts and many other things. But Nigerians and the rest of the world were laughing at us, derogating those things as “made in Aba” just as they did to the Chinese products. Similarly, there is a story that once upon a time, Nigeria was a country that was not doing well in culture, but today, Nigeria’s story has changed culture-wise. So, we need more of what we have seen at this 2019 International Arts & Crafts Expo,” the Senator said.

    The Minister of Women Affairs, Paulin Tallen she described Otunba Runsewe as a great organiser and promoter of Nigeria’s arts and culture, noting that culture brings peace and unites us all. She prayed that the peace which pervaded the 2019 INAC will spread across the entire world..

    Emir of Jiwa, Alhaji Idris Musa, extolled the virtues of Otunba Runsewe as a gentleman who has been in the forefront of promoting Nigeria’s culture and through INAC also promoted the cultures of the entire world thereby bringing peace to the world. He ensued for peace in Nigeria and the world, agreeing that culture is the key to global peace.

    Otunba Runsewe commended the participating countries for coming to the 2019 INAC saying “for the first time, we had a window where the ordinary man and woman discussed (face-to-face) with the international community without taking a flight. I think that was a huge success for us.”

    Libyan Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Saleh Saeed advocated for the participation of more countries in subsequent editions, saying “the expo has been ongoing for some years but the embassy in Nigeria decided to participate in this year’s event. It is important for countries to showcase their cultural heritage and the expo is a good platform for this.”

    Trade and Tourism Officer, Ethiopian Embassy, Abuja Ms Harmella Mathewos, appealed to Nigerians and other countries to continually network in order to leverage each other’s unique cultural products.

    Venezuelan Ambassador to Nigeria, David Carraballo commended the National Council for Arts and Culture for organising INAC saying that ‘the theme of the event creates opportunity for countries to connect, integrate, share cultural values and experiences, which would further foster global unity.”

    On his part, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Nigeria Mr. Md Shameem Ahsan said his country is proud to synergise with Nigeria in cultural exchanges using the platform of INAC assuring that they will continue to participate just like they have in previous outings. INAC 2019 featured awards in several categories with Ogun state emerging best exhibitor overall and several countries coming tops in the various categories.

     

     

  • Investors urge govt to promote ‘made in Nigeria’

    By Ozolua Uhakheme, Assistant Editor (Arts)

    Investors in Nigeria’s creative industry have urged the Federal Government to review the statutory mandate of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) with a view to focusing strongly on championing Made- in-Nigeria goods campaign.

    According to stakeholders, who spoke at the Investment Forum held at this year’s International Arts and Crafts Expo (INAC), organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in Abuja, the NOA is the engine room capable of transforming not only Nigerians’ thinking but also their perceptions.

    In his keynote paper titled: Imperatives on creativity and product design in networking Nigerian arts and crafts, Prof. Jerry Buhari of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said the agency needed a man with the spirit of an evangelist as its head to lead the campaign.

    Jerry Buhari

    “Imagine the NOA mobilising the country on a mother-of-all campaigns titled Use Made in Nigeria. We need a spirit of the Mass MObilisation for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovering (MAMSER) to be injected into NOA. That office is the engine room of transforming not only Nigerians thinking but also perception. We need a man that has the spirit of an evangelist in that office. We should stop talking. I want to challenge the Ministry of Information and Culture to give directive to all its parastatals and agencies not to use imported furniture. Let’s promote made-in- Nigeria goods, that’s where the investment is,” he said.

    He lamented the dearth of culturally-relevant edifices in most cities that can house the nation’s priceless cultural objects for better appreciation. He urged the government and corporate organisations to invest in facilities such as museum of modern art for the advancement of national heritage.

    “If you close your eyes and you are on some streets in Abuja, and you remove all the black people on those streets, you would have been in anywhere in Chicago, USA. Abuja is a culturally-neutral or blind city. There is hardly any national edifice that promotes or advances the rich traditional architecture that we have. Who were the builders of Abuja? In fact, what kind of brief were they given?” he wondered.

    Read Also: Come up with made in Nigeria ideas, Buhari tells NESG

     

    On the need to believe in ourselves and promote our culture, Buhari said: “Imagine our President wears a made-in-Nigeria shoe. It will automatically inspire many people to wear such shoes. However, we have the problem of ‘clean broom’ philosophy in government. That is, when a public officer comes into office, he believes there are spirits and demons in such office space. He gets rid of the old chairs, curtains, and brings in new ones. But, I ask you, where is your history? They are lost forever. The table Jefferson used is what Donald Trump uses today in White House. The attraction of Dubai doors is the fine finishing. But, any of these doors cannot stand good kicks as it will give way. And if rain drops on any of the doors, it is gone.

    However, there are lots of Nigerians doing great doors everywhere, why are we not patronising them? Our furniture and curtains should not be imported.”

    Managing Director, Le Look Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa, wondered why NOA has been quiet over the campaign to use made-in- Nigeria goods, adding that it should do more. She said Le Look was among the first organisations that started promoting made-in-Nigeria goods 34 years ago. “I cannot be defined by the imitation of foreign goods. Why not buy made-in-Nigeria. I will lend my voice to the call on the current DG of NOA to be given a new mandate on how to promote Use Made-in-Nigeria Goods. All our ministries should wear made-in-Nigeria dresses at least once a week. It is even worse that many go to second-hand market to buy dresses. Interestingly, Le Look bags are used everywhere in the world. In August, we produced 12,000 bags for NBA, and we have just finished producing 7,000 bags for SNE for their conference in Kano. To achieve this quality, we took our staff outside for training in proper packaging,” she added.

    Art entrepreneur and producer of branded products, Mrs. Maureen Chukwura. who has improved the packaging of Nigeria’s foodstuff for global market, said her organisation worked on the packaging of our foods to meet international standard. “I later undertook a tour of Europe in order to advance the value of our foods in terms of packaging. Also, some government policies were not friendly to investors. Ever since my exhibition at Akwaaba, I have been receiving calls from different parts of Africa,” she noted.

    International lawyer and public analyst Mrs. Christy Adejoh, urged entrepreneurs to determine what value to add to arts and crafts, adding that presentation of both the creator and the objects is of great importance. She noted that sometimes creators of works like adire appear in t-shirt with inscription like Hilfiger.

    “With that there is disconnection. Also, some entrepreneurs cannot express themselves before a potential customer or investor. One thing we take for granted is the business etiquette, which is very suspect among culture workers. This will fetch you a loss by not applying the right social skill,” she said.

    Dr. Ranti Ojo of the University of Abuja advocated for the reliance and development of indigenous technology as a starting point for advancement.

    “People perish because of lack of culture. We must build special interest in our indigenous technology. The level of one’s technology is the level of civilisation. Unfortunately, we parade other peoples’ culture and civilisation at the detriment of ours. Unknown to many, Benin City was a civilised society before America became a nation,” he noted.

     

  • Achievers varsity to impact society

    From Sola Balogun

    Like the hen that lays the golden egg, Achievers University, a private university in Owo, Ondo State has come of age. Not only has the institution earned successes in its 11 years of existence, it has gradually nurtured it’s vision of producing well-rounded graduates with promising careers ahead of them.

    At its combined 8th and 9th convocations, the institution again sensitised the Nigerians home and abroad about the gains of using quality education to achieve national cohesion, purposeful leadership and economic development.

    The institution, which was founded over a decade ago by an indigene, Dr. Bode Ayorinde, a politician and businessman, also used the occasion to galvanise support for democratic governance, as aptly canvassed by Revd Matthew Hassan Kukah who delivered the convocation lecture.

    Kukah, who is the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, bagged Achievers University’s doctorate for his commitment to societal ideals and national unity. He used the occasion to underscore the virtues of the institution and its handlers, noting that parents and their wards should grab the rare opportunities being offered by Achievers to make the younger generation “swim successfully in the ocean of life’.

    As a vindication of the institution’s commitment to academic excellence, Professor Tunji Samuel Ibiyemi described the journey so far as a strategic and progressive one. Having obtained its licence to operate as a private university in 2007, the institution took off formally on April 2, 2008 with eight programmes in just two colleges. Today the institution boasts of 22 programmes in four colleges, while it just graduated its first set of post graduate students in Accounting, Business Administration and Computer Science Professor Ibiyemi also explained how he university has blazed the trail having obtained accreditation for such programmes as Nursing Sciences, Medical laboratory Sciences, Law, Sociology, Natural and Pure Sciences as well as Community and Security studies.

    On the growth of physical infrastructure in the university,the VC cited the new ultra modern female hostel with a total 810 bed spaces. This is in addition to the existing 756 capacity male hostel; both of which have common rooms, decent restaurants,mini mart and laundry facilities.

    Read Also: Achievers University celebrates freshers

     

    According to the VC, the University shall also complete its engineering building complex before March 2020. The proposed edifice, which has 1000 seater lecture theatre and a well equipped office for staff. On the proposed College of Communication Studies, the VC described Mass Communication as the backbone of all programmes in all Nigerian universities. He hinted that Achievers University has since commenced building of an edifice to house the new college while awaiting the final decision of the NUC    which recently approved Faculty of Communication Studies as a replacement of Mass Communication which used to be a department in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Also speaking on why Achievers University proposed an additional Diploma/ Certificate programme for all its first degree holders, Rev. Victoria Imolehin hinted that beginning with the 2019/2020 session, every student will have the opportunity to earn a diploma or certificate. The programme is provided for all students who are desirous of that extra value and is available on weekends so as not to interfere with regular programmes, morally sound, properly educated and entrepreneurially oriented, who would be useful to himself and to the society.

    In line with this vision, the university has a unique feature that gives parents and guardians extra value for their wards during the course of their study at the university. She explained further that each student will henceforth be free to offer a maximum of two out of the following programmes before graduation: Certificate in Computer Programming, Diploma in Law, Diploma in French  Language, Diploma in Procurement Process, Diploma in Theology and Church History as well as certificate in Communication Skill and Public Speaking. On the modality of the programmes, Rev. Imolehin disclosed that students would be allowed to access any two of these programmes at their 200 and 300 levels, in addition to the degree programme. Also the programmes are designed to ensure that students gain confidence in themselves before entering the labour market. Besides, the university has lately initiated collaborations with the United kingdom and the USA on how to assist graduates of Achievers University to proceed on their post graduate studies outside the country.

    According to Imolehin, the collaborations would entail processing travel documents in favour of graduates of Achievers University who would be treated in-state students in foreign universities. In addition to these, such post graduate students would benefit from a discount of 60 percent of their total fees while also gaining research grants in their chosen programmes.

    • Balogun is a lecturer at Federal Univeristy Oye, Ekiti State.

     

  • That’s a Mistake! (3)

    Good day to you and thank you for joining me again today. We’ve been learning some valuable lessons from Sir James Dyson who became dissatisfied with his Hoover vacuum cleaner in 1978 and decided to invent his own. He survived 5, 127 prototypes, several challenges and 15 years of efforts before he eventually founded his own company, Dyson Ltd, in 1993. With about 60 consumer products and over 5,800 engineers working for him, James Dyson is no doubt an example of success. Last week, we learnt some lesson from the story, that our disposition to challenges matters; we should look out for inspirations, even in the strangest places; we must not allow any limitation or excuse in our lives; and we must never give up on our dreams. Today, we shall consider four other lessons. Let’s get right to it:

    • Your team matters: we have credited Dyson with the invention and success of “G-Force” vacuum cleaner, and rightly so. But I wonder how successful he would have been if he didn’t have a highly supportive wife. Imagine a person being consumed by a “stupid” idea to the extent that several years were “wasted” in developing 5, 126 “useless” protypes. Imagine that all family funds were expended on such “madness” that they were counting their pennies! Imagine that the wife had to take up a job to support the family and her “jobless” husband’s “foolish pastime”. Imagine some other partners saying, “When you are done burning the future of your kids, will you get a real job and take some responsibility around here?” “Other more intelligent and science-oriented people didn’t find faults with the device and it had to be you, an interior designer!” One way or the other, the wife believed in her husband enough to go all the way with him. On your way to success, make sure you get a strong team.
    • Rejection is temporary: Dyson was rejected in the United Kingdom and the United States. Such rejection could have been devastating for someone else after several years of developing a product. He, however, refused to be discouraged and he kept at it until he achieved success. When you have great ideas, hope for the best but expect some rejects along the way. Dyson was rejected in the UK, not because his product was no-good, but because it was too good that it would ruin their existing business structure. Don’t be too quick to think you have failed because you were rejected. Perhaps you are just too good! Find where you will be appreciated.
    • Don’t be afraid to venture out: when Dyson’s product was rejected in all the places he was familiar with, he decided to travel the world until he ended up in Japan, where he not only got a market but also won an award. Venture out of your safe zone. Don’t stop until you find a market for what you have to offer.
    • Don’t stop at one solution: so, you have solved a problem successfully? Great! That means you can solve the next one, and then the next. If Dyson had settled with his innovative vacuum cleaner, he would have still been celebrated. But he went on to establish a company that has about 60 consumer products. By solving one problem, he received the courage to solve at least 59 others. There are greater achievements ahead of you. Never settle with an old record when you can break new ones.

    Read Also: That’s a Mistake! (2)

    Last week, I requested for your feedback on the lessons you learnt from Sir James Dyson and I appreciate your responses. I will like to share the message of one of the most dedicated readers of this column and who has always shared his thoughts. “When you don’t give up, you will end up being celebrated. Your deriders will become admirers of your courage. Right determination will only take you in one direction- the right one! These and more I’ve drawn from the Sir James Dyson’s frustrating yet inspiring endeavor”- Hanior, UniMkar. Thank you for sharing.

    Thanks for reading my article today. I would really love to hear from you. So, do share your views with me by sending SMS to 07034737394, visiting www.olanreamodu.com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu. Remember, you are currently nothing compared to what you can become. This can be your year if you want it to be!