Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

Title: ’Now That You Are Employed’

Author: Babatunde Jedidiah Omisore

Reviewer: Victoria Amadi

Pagination:   188 pages

With the dwindling rate at which employees dive into employment opportunities and work settings, without patiently and holistically digesting core work ethics, there arises urgent need to address this loophole to bring employees back to assimilating the Do(s) and Don’t(s) of a working environment in producing a competent employee.

 It is against this backdrop that an expository and inspirational piece titled; ‘Now That You Are Employed’, written by Babatunde Omisore, comes to the limelight, to address this menace and to expose employees in the public service, to the realities of life at the work place.

 To achieve this, the author employs humour,  simple and uncomplicated diction which makes it easier for the readers to keep turning the pages, while grabbing a clearer picture of its contents. The simplicity of the diction, also, enables anyone who has average grasp of English language, to easily understand the book.

 Its cover is an image of a faceless male figure, putting on suit and tie, which symbolically, represents a civil servant.

 Omisore employs expository writing technique, which enables him to calve an edge in enlightening the readers. He also, employed real life instances to portray these work ethics.

 The 188-page book, comprises of 68 chapters. Each chapter starts with a quote (which are in alignment with the subject matter discussed therein) from Literates. However, there is something unique about the structuring of the chapters that would attract its readers into wanting to grasp more of its content. This is in the way the author shortened each chapter into either a page, half a page, a page and half or two pages.

The foreward of the book was written by the current Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat. 

The book also provides employees with some human relation’s management nuggets to be able to navigate working terrain on how to carefully choose mentors in the fields of endeavour, how to employ financial management strategy, clue on the right dressing ethics, on how to develop emotional intelligence, understanding one’s temperament, how to prepare for retirement and a host of others.

 For new entrants into the civil service, Omisore on Page 4 advises: “In your first six months, develop a reputation for being a hard worker. Be the hardest worker in the office. Your bosses know you. People are watching  you. They know the dead weights and they know the guys who get the job done. Be part of those who get the job done.”

 The author on Page 20, describes salary as ‘the least of the benefits’ while stating two important things that should come before salary as; Contacts and people, development of skill and competence.

 On prospective dressing ethics at work place, he writes: “Casual dressing is for casual workers who get casual results for the casual pay. To be a good civil servant, you have to dress well.” Simply put, “your habit of dressing well will put you ahead of the pack.

 Discussing the need for developing good emotional intelligence as a Civil Servant, he admonishes; “ …in this environment, you will be graded based on your emotional intelligence.”

“There is politics everywhere, even in civil service. Talent is not enough. Hardwork is not enough. You have to be careful that you are not on the wrong end of office politics.” These and more are some of the secrets to surviving work setting, Omisore encapsulates in the book.

Irrespective of these nuggets of wisdom masked in this literary work, there are few errors one could point out therein. Omisore in the book, documents some experiences which are peculiar to him. The book also, extensively and selectively covers civil servicing in Lagos State, thereby making it appears as a state’s book.

Stakeholders at the maiden National Summit on Migration in Lagos rallied against irregular migrations and pushed for Japada.

The summit was organised by the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM) with over 300 journalists across the continent, covering migration as part of its ongoing efforts to positively change the narratives.

JIFORM President, Dr Ajibola Abayomi, urged government to address both the push and pull factors fueling irregular migration and human trafficking by improving the enabling environment to provide jobs, security, education and other social amenities to the citizens.

Also, he said, the summit would serve as an annual event to encourage capacity building for the media and other stakeholders on migration subsector.

Assistant Director, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Wale Akodu, while welcoming the participants, called on the media to do more to dissuade the minds of the Nigerian youths from the option of irregular migration.

Agencies such as the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs, Nigeria Police Force, and Reintegration (Giz), Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Nigeria Police Force academic and others made inputs during the summit.

Keynote speaker, Director General NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi who was represented by Mrs Comfort Modupe Agboko, the Zonal Commander of the agency in Lagos said advised Nigerians to shun desperate attempts to relocate abroad.

She expressed the readiness of the NAPTIP to work with the JIFORM and other organisations to stem the tide of human trafficking through exchange of quality information with other strategic means.

The guest lecturer, Prof Lai Oso of Lagos State University, Ojo while appraising migration trends and dynamics, recommended integrated communication process to tackle the migration menaces and charge the media to report more positive stories about the nation.

“Irregular migration means several things in different parts of the country.  In addressing the issues, we need an integrated communication process that accommodates multiple strategic and deliberate communications to reach different classes of Nigerians,” he said., Team Leader of the Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs and Reintegration (Giz) Sandra Vermuijten said Nigerians should be encouraged to substitute ‘Japa’ for ‘Japada’ which means returning back to base to exploit the opportunities back home instead of being stranded abroad.

She said the Giz was ready to continue to work with the government and other relevant organisations to train and equip Nigerians for job opportunities. “We implement a 360 degree approach to migration – that means that we support both those who want to travel and those that want to come back. We provide information on regular migration and on the risks of irregular – not illegal – migration.

“Once abroad, thousands of Nigerians are being told to return, because they have no legal right to be there. Many arrived irregularly and applied for asylum. However, as Nigeria is not at war and the government is not systematically persecuting citizens, Nigerians are often not eligible for asylum” she added.

Abike-Dabiri Erewa, the Chairman of NiDCOM represented by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the head of the media unit hailed the contributions of the Nigerians in Diaspora to the economy but was quick to admonish Nigerians to be of conduct abroad.

The NiDCOM boss counseled that every Nigerian willing to travel abroad should endeavour to get the right documentation and be of good behavior to save the Federal Government from spending huge money on those being deported.

The President of Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Mr Abdulganiyu Abubakar, represented by the National Secretary, Mrs Ijeoma Dawn Olatubosun, called for effective collaboration between the government and civil society groups to reduce incidence of human trafficking.

The gathering was small but comprised members of the creative industry in Lagos. From writers to publishers, theatre art practitioners, TV producers, filmmakers and musicians, almost every sub-sector was represented. There couldn’t have been a better audience than this to discuss the new Creative Industry Development Bill. Though a relatively stormy session, the interaction afforded each speaker the opportunity to make significant contributions on how to make the Bill richer before the final draft is sent to the National Assembly. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

Some stakeholders in creative industry converged on Terra Kulture in Victoria Island, Lagos to ‘brainstorm’ on an Executive Bill, tagged Creative Industries Development Bill that is in its fifth draft. Specifically, the gathering was at the instance of Senior Special Assistant to the President (Country Risk Assessment and Evaluation (CRA&E), Office of the Chief of Staff, Colonel Felix Orevoghene Alaita (rtd). Penultimate Sunday,  he briefed practitioners-writers, publishers, theatre art practitioners, TV and filmmakers and musicians among others, on the Bill with the aim of refocusing the creative sector for growth.

According to Col. Alaita, who assured that the Bill promises to make funding available outside of government budget for the creative sector, said there is need for inputs from stakeholders on how to make the Bill richer before the final draft that will be presented to the National Assembly.

Some stakeholders, who praised the initiative, however expressed reservation on the process and workability of the Bill. In attendance were Mahmoud Ali-Balogun, Israel Eboh, Jahman Anikulapo, Dr. Efosa Imasuen, Dr. Victor Okhai, Makinde Adeniran, Anwuli Ojugo, Azafi Omoluabi, Samuel Osaze and a host of culture journalists.

Providing insight into the draft of the Bill, Col. Alaita (rtd) stated that motivation for the Bill partly stemmed from the successful passage of The Nigerian StartUp Act, which he also helped fashion from start to finish. He, therefore, wishes to replicate a similar legal instrument for the creative industry where he has a passion.

“We want to have a platform that will enable the creative industries grow from where they are now to where they ought to be, in a larger scope. We have put together many items that are supposed to help you improve your business landscape. The Bill is going to establish a Commission, which will be an umbrella agency that will oversee everything that has to do with the creative industries, and interfaces with every other Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) on your behalf. The idea is to create a one-stop centre where everything about the industry can be resolved, to reduce the bottlenecks and bureaucracies that we normally face when we do business in Nigeria,” he said.

But at a time when Federal Government is considering merger and scrapping of some ministries, departments and agencies to save cost of governance, how well can the new Bill fly within government circle?

In 2011, the Oronsaye Committee in its report, recommended that of the 541 statutory and non-statutory Federal Government parastatals, agencies and commissions, 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, 38 agencies should be abolished, 52 agencies should be merged, and 14 should revert to departments in ministries.

On the issue of funding, he stated that the commission’s funds will be independent of national budget. “The Bill will also establish a fund that is supposed to create a framework for access to funds at the various layers – from the person who decides on writing a book to the established ones like yourselves, etc. The different layers of funding will be available to you to do your business through a process that will be created in the Act. The Bill also establishes a system in place to ensure that you can use your intellectual property (IP) to access funding, which is a challenge we have identified that a lot of people in the creative industries face.

“I created a concept I call ‘The Whole of Government, The Whole of the Nation Approach to Doing Things’. This ensures that we don’t just sit as government to create things for people to use without getting feedbacks from them on the viability of those ideas or notions. So we’re here today to get feedback from you on what you think should be in the Bill of such nature that will ensure it is fit for the purpose for which it is designed. We need ownership of the Bill. So the more feedback that we can get and input in the Bill, the more ownership you will have of the Bill.

“The Bill is here for you. The Bill puts you FIRST. FIRST is acronym for funding, incentives, research, skills and training. We want the Bill to be strong on training. We understand the need for a pipeline to be established from nursery school to full adulthood where training of various cadre happens to ensure that the industry is at international standard of quality, going forward. We want children in the nursery school to have dreams and desires of becoming writers, publishers or theatre artists and not when they finish growing up, and they’ve learnt everything to be learnt, then they now possibly want to switch. Let it be organic; let it be something that is nurtured from birth to adulthood. The Bill is very strong on training and will find ways to interface with the Ministry of Education, for instance, to ensure that a syllabus for the creative industry is integrated into the school curriculum to grow talents to meet modern-day standards.”

However,  some stakeholders lamented that they were never carried along since the first draft of the Bill, noting that as good as the idea of the bill is, the players know what their challenges are than any outsider.

They wondered why it took the bill facilitators such a long time to call for their inputs, adding that the foundation to drafting the bill was faulty and at variance with existing operational environment of many agencies in the Ministry with similar and multiple interests in the creative sector.

 They also queried the place of the existing MDAs, which they said, is not clear. “Do they have a buy-in into the bill because without such, there is a likely conflict? Also, there are too many agencies in the sector doing same thing without clear cut guidelines. How well is the Bill positioned to make government agencies perform their functions? How can the commission interface with government agencies in order to implement their laws and mandate?” Eboh asked.

He also observed that there are too many components that are not captured in the Bill, which often lead to lopsided development in the sector. 

By Grace Anwulika Ifeadi

Traditional marriage among the Anioma (Ndi Enuani) people of Delta State is held at a very high esteem and considered as one of the highest honour a child could possibly give to his or her parents. Every parent looks forward to a blissful, happy and rewarding married life for their children especially so, as marriage is a social-cultural responsibility expected of every young adult and a veritable tool in laying foundation of strong families for a stable society. In Anioma, marriage institution is considered sacred and guided by customary laws, rules, customs, beliefs and attributes that prescribe rights and duties of partners and accord status to their offspring.         

In the recent past, monogamy which comprises of one husband and one wife at a time was not so popular in Anioma land. The reason being that the people were predominately farmers and as such needed much labour to work in the farms. The strength of the work force  depended on the number of the farmers’ household. This expectation neither encouraged nor favoured the monogamous marriage whose offspring were limited in number. Today,  the reverse is the case due to the advent of Christianity and Westernisation. These influence impacted greatly on the culture and tradition of the people, and created avenues for people to venture into other trades. Their new status made it unnecessary for them to continue to produce and cater for very large household. In connection to these, monogamy became popular among the Anioma people.

Polygamous marriage, on the other hand, is seen in two forms polygyny and polyandry; mean an individual having multiple spouses at the same time in a marriage. What was common then in Aniocha land was polygyny (polygamy), which means one man marrying more than one wife at the same time. While polyandry where a woman marries more than one husband at a time had never been practised in the land. As a matter of fact, it is a taboo for such to happen in Anioma culture and tradition. Polygyny was very popular then in Anioma land because of its associated economic and social benefits. In those days, a man’s wealth and social status was equated with the expanse of   his farmland and the size of his household. It was expected that the larger the household, the more the workforce, the larger the farmland and the eventual increase in farm produce. Hence polygyny was common and  commanded respect and honour among the kinsmen. However, it’s associated with some ills. According to  Shepard, (2012) the prevalence of mental-health issues in polygamous women and children is evident in various culture  Africa  and they include; higher rates of emotional distress, depression, anxiety, hostility, family conflict, jealousy and stress reduced life and marital satisfaction, problematic family functioning and low self-esteem. 

Widow inheritance also known as levirate marriage is another social-cultural marriage type  in Anioma land. Here the widow is forced to marry the brother of her deceased husband. This practice was instituted at a time when women were fully dependent on their husbands for upkeep. Hence after the death of a husband the widow is handed over to her brother-in-law to support her and her children financially and keep her late husband’s wealth within the family limit.  Also if the first lacked male children   the levirate marriage will be expected to raise male children for the dead especially when the widow is young.

However, widows with grown up male children do not enter into such relationships, instead they  figuratively marry their sons who  provide necessary assistance for the family. Also, a widow may have the privilege to choose a male for herself from her late husband’s extended family. Nevertheless, levirate marriage which appeared helpful in the past is now minimal due to reasons such as it is against Christian ethics of monogamy, the grown up children are not usually comfortable with such arrangements, men would want to concentrate on their own immediate family’s upkeep, problem of identity, among children born in levirate marriage and they have no right of inheritance in the house of birth.  Others are educated independent and self-reliant widows have greater control over their resources, many widows today fight against the idea of being forced to marry another man, man is beginning to dislike the practice since his brothers children whom he raised will later realise that he wasn’t their true father after all.

Woman to woman marriage is completely different from the same sex marriage and the main reason is child bearing.

A woman marries a wife for herself or on behalf of her husband whether living or dead.  A   daughter marries a wife on behalf of her father if she is an only child and not able to give birth. To accomplish this task, the women choose the male counterparts in order to have control over the wives.  However the children born into sure a marriage pattern are worse hit. The practice is against Christian ethics.

Children suffer identity crises, stigmatised, and suffer from low self-esteem.

This cultural practice  is minimal now. The people are better informed and have alternative means in tackling the issue of posterity.

From the fore going, it is clearly seen that cultures and traditions are not static but rather dynamic and are changing. More often than not, the changes are characterised by external influences which are due to the interaction of a people, with peoples from other cultures.

Book review

Title:      Billy Bisa’s Secrets and Other Stories

Authors:       Dulue Mbachu;

Reviewer:    Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Publisher:    The New Gong Publishers, Lagos

Pagination:           143

THEart of the short story is a very delicate form to master. The great masters of short fiction such as Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Isaac Babel, O. Henry etc. are as relevant today as when they put pen to paper back in time. Dulue Mbachu, with his debut short story collection, Billy Bisa’s Secrets and Other Stories, displays qualities that stand him in good stead to be read for years on end.

The eight stories in the collection  “were written between the mid-1980s and the end of the 1990s” but they are still apt in this day and age. Some of the stories had earlier been published in anthologies and magazines like West Africa and BBC Focus on Africa.

Every of the story published in the collection is preceded by a verse that somewhat emblematises the theme. In the first story “Say Sorry”, the eccentric 25-year-old Nath living in “a provincial university town” raises hell when a professor’s wife driving a Renault 16 car “brushed his trousers past him, tearing it and a bit of his skin without even noticing him as she pulled up a few metres ahead.” The matter is taken as far as to the police station where Nath’s only demand goes thusly: “I just want her to say sorry!”

The next  story, “The Magic Ring”, is set in the university town of Nsukka where two young friends, Chidi and Paul, are caught up with the shenanigans of a magician selling a magic ring until Chidi ends the friendship by throwing away the magic ring, and after earning admission into the university he sees that his erstwhile friend, Paul, who had gone to learn a trade in Onitsha “had acquired two more rings…”

The police can get into all kinds of caper in Nigeria, and in Dulue Mbachu’s story “Arrested for Wandering” two friends, Chuks and Bad Joe, attending a party in a nearby street end up wasting almost two hours of their time and paying bribe after being spuriously arrested by some policemen.

The story “A Great Debate” is Mbachu’s adroit reprisal via personal terms the Nigerian national debate over taking the IMF loan during General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

In the story “The Blood Donor”, a man whose wife is about to deliver in hospital is asked to look for two pints of blood in case his wife may have to undergo caesarean section witnesses a woebegone man collapse in the bid to earn some quid as a blood donor.

The police again come in for crooked mention in the story “Joji and the Police” this way: “In all his 25 years in the police, Sgt Aduboni had never heard anything like this… That someone could walk into a police station, tell the police that he wants to go and steal, and was proposing to the police to help him steal and share the loot with him.”

The human rights lawyer, Femi Soares, springs a happy ending surprise.

“Paapa’s Modernisation” deals with the eponymous old man.

Canada-based Nigerian filmmaker Tomide Bamigboye, 23, speaks with Olamide Fred-Ahmadu on her career and her short film, Out of love, that won awards at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival, including Best Student Film, Best Female Filmmaker, Best Director and Best Short Film awards. It also won the Emerging Artist Film Festival’s Best Drama award.

How was life growing up in Nigeria?

Well, I like to think I was more on the privileged side of life. So, a lot of things that would affect the average Nigerian child didn’t affect me. I was always inside when I wasn’t in school. If I ever went anywhere, it would almost always be with my parents. I never really used public transport and all that. I just had a pretty normal, guarded childhood that anyone with super-protective parents would have. My parents were devout Christians and I am a Christian as well. I attended Christian schools as well. For primary school, I went to Kingdom Heritage. For secondary school, I went to Faith Academy. I started my university education at Redeemers’ University but after my first year, I moved to Canada where I had to start all over again but well I didn’t mind.

When and how did you pick up interest in film?

Well, I guess I have always had it. My mum and sister have always told me that right from primary school, I had a knack for performing, acting and such arts. My mum said I was always doing impressions and I was good at it. I would always participate in the fashion parade segment of my inter-house sports in primary school and I would always win. My dad is also an artsy person. He’s a good artist, loves to draw and all that. We are the artistic people in the family.

Was your family very supportive of your inclination to the arts?

Oh yes, they were especially my dad. My parents are the “do what you want to do” type. They didn’t force any of us into any profession we didn’t want to be in. They have been incredibly supportive throughout my journey. When I wanted to start in film, I wasn’t very enamored with the acting part. I was more inclined to the writing and directing parts of the industry. It was my dad who told me that it was important to learn the acting part as well so I could fully understand what needed to be done and what I had to expect from actors when I directed. That was when I decided to study Theater arts.

Who is your role model in the industry?

Well, my dad obviously. But in all seriousness, I have some people whose works I like from both Hollywood and Nollywood. So, from Nollywood, I like the works of Kunle Afolayan and Tunde Kelani (I grew up watching their works as well). From Hollywood, I like the works of Jason Reitman who worked on the 2021 Ghostbusters movie. I was privileged to work on that project with him for a day. Even though it was just a day, it was a whole experience.

What genre of film do you work on?

Well, mostly drama, romance, life. I am a huge fan of movies that highlight social and racial issues, mental health, and neurodiversity. I plan to bring more of these types of movies to life. I worked on one earlier in the year about the day-to-day life of an autistic young adult. It’s currently in post-production.

Is Out of love your first film?

Honestly, I like to think of it as my first film but it is not really my first film. I have done two films before it. At the university, I had a film class where we had to make a short film for a project. So, I did that but you know what, it’s so horrible. I never wanted to see it. You know back then I didn’t really know a lot about filmmaking, directing, and all that. So I like to just erase that from my memory.

What was your motivation for Out of love and how did you come up with it?

I wrote and directed this film. Well, for me (and I’m sure it is the same for most film directors and writers out there), there is always a little element of my life in my work. Even if it isn’t your life, it could be the life of a loved one or an experience. For Out of love, it was vaguely about these two people I knew from high school (Faith Academy) who were best friends but the girl has feelings for the guy. He was one of the “big boys” and was always going for the “big girls” so he never looked at her that way. By the way, he wasn’t aware she had a crush on him. She eventually gave up on the crush for the sake of maintaining their friendship which she cherished. Years went by, they grew up, and he finally realizes she has been the one for him but when he professes his love, she shuts him out. He realized it too late. She had spent a lot of time trying to get over him and she wasn’t about to let him just waltz into her life like that. I’m actually developing a feature film about these two but it’s going to be exclusively about their relationship. I will be adding some other elements to it.

How did you feel when your film won many awards?

I’m genuinely surprised because the whole process of making this film was tedious. We shot on a low-quality camera (it was a Sony FS5). I have just four crew members handling the sound, lights and camera. It was really tough. Even when it came to post-production, I was looking at the film and I was like “what is this?” I almost didn’t submit it because I thought it was horrible but then I just decided to try my luck so I submitted to a couple of festivals. Most of them picked me and I’m lucky to have won the awards. It definitely taught me a lesson that even when you doubt yourself just take one step at a time, you’ll never know.

When and where will we get to see Out of love?

Well very soon it will be uploaded to YouTube. It just finished its festival route.

The race for this year’s edition of The Nigeria Prize for Science, The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism is now open for contribution. The Advisory Boards for the prizes, sponsored by Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Limited, have called for entries for the prizes, flagging off this year’s competitions.

The Science and Literature prizes, which are now in their 19th year, come with a cash prize of $100,000, while the Prize for Literary Criticism has a prize money of $10,000. The Science Prize, which recognises outstanding scientific achievements by Nigerians and non-Nigerians, will focus on Innovation for Enhancement of Healthcare Therapy this year.

The Literature Prize, on the other hand, focuses on drama. The prize, which honours the author of the best book by a Nigerian, rotates among four literary genres – Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Children’s Literature. The Literary Criticism Prize, which also aims to promote Nigerian Literature, will receive entries on works in literary criticism of Nigerian Literature, especially critical essays on new writings in Nigerian Literature.

According to a statement signed by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Andy Odeh, the call for entries for the literature prize and literary criticism will close on March 31, while the window for the science prize will close on April 30.

Prof. Ameh Dennis Akoh will chair the panel of judges for this year’s Literature and the Literary Criticism competition. Prof Akoh is a Professor of Drama and Critical Theory at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State. Other panel members include Prof Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr. Rasheedah Liman. Prof Ezenwanebe is a professor of Creative Arts, the University of Lagos. Dr. Liman is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State.

The Advisory Board also announced Prof Victor K. Yankah from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana as the International Consultant.

The winners of the Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, if any, will be announced at an award ceremony in October 2023 to commemorate the anniversary of the first LNG export from the NLNG’s Plant on October 9, 1999. The Science Prize winner will be revealed earlier in the year. The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science are part of Nigeria LNG’s contribution towards helping to build a better Nigeria.

Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, in this interview with KUNLE AKINRINADE, speaks on issues affecting culture, entertainment and how the tourism sector in the state has been transformed in the last three years. Excerpts:

Tourism and entertainment are part of the THEMES agenda of Lagos State. Give us an overview of some of the activities of the ministry since you assumed office and what you intend to do this year?

I resumed duty on January 18, 2020, as the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture in Lagos State. Ever since then, the second “E’ of the THEMES agenda (entertainment and tourism) has had its own share in the development of Lagos State. Unfortunately, in 2020, we had the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought everything down across the globe.

Fortunately, however, we did not allow that to deter us from achieving our desired goals.

 Immediately after the pandemic, we had a review of what post-pandemic would look like in Lagos, and we had a committee chaired by actress Joke Silva and some other people from different areas of tourism, arts, and entertainment in Lagos State, including Mrs. Nike Okundaye of Nike Arts Gallery. At the end of the day, one billion Naira was voted to assist that sector and bring it back to life after the pandemic.

In 2020, we inaugurated Glover Memorial Hall. Also in 2021, the master plan for tourism (in the state) for the next 10 years was presented. In the master plan, we have the immediate, medium, and long-term programmes that we believe need to be done were included.

Now, I can tell that all the immediate in the master plan has actually been achieved, like community-based tourism. In Lagos State today. In all the 57 councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), there is a tourism desk office. And we have five particular local governments that we are using to drive tourism in the five divisions of the state, along with tourism desk offices in the 57 council areas and LCDAs. We believe we can achieve the best of tourism when we localise tourism, not only at the state level. And we have decided to partner the local governments to drive tourism.

Recently, Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari was here to inaugurate one of our new edifices: John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History. I will tell you that the edifice is not just a museum as many people think; I call it a knowledge-sharing centre.

It is a place where we can do a lot of research about our culture, about who we are, and about what we need to be doing as Yoruba, not only about Lagos State. It is about the Yoruba race because we are not promoting our culture as we need to be doing. But, with this centre, we can learn so many things about our culture, especially in the olden days.

One of our best programmes is the training with the Lagos State creative industry. The programme was initiated in 2020 and the lessons began in 2021. As of today, we have trained over 3000 with different partners. We have four major partners that we have worked with. We have EbonyLife Academy, DelYork Film International, Ogidi Studios, and AMMA. These are institutions of international repute that partnered the Lagos State government to train many youths in different areas like video editing, script writing and fashion among others.

I am happy to let you know that one of their movies has been premiered even at the international level.

When we went to the Toronto International Film Festival, one of our students had her movie premiered. And it is a pride that the state government is doing what it should do to assist and empower the creative industry because we are blessed with many creative talents. All we have to do is to harness these talents, polish them and make them shine in a way that the world would be able to see them because Nigeria is the soul of entertainment in Africa and Lagos is the hub of entertainment in the country. So, when you talk about entertainment, most of the Nigerians making waves across the globe are from Lagos State, both in comedy, music and acting. They are shaking the entertainment scene across the globe and we are proud to associate with them and everything they are doing.

Lagos State recently hosted the National Festival of Arts (NAFEST). So, what has the state benefitted from hosting the festival?

We hosted NAFEST between November 7 and 13, 2021. About 31 out of the 36 states in Nigeria participated in NAFEST. Over 7000 participants were at the festival and many commercial activities took place during the event. We had people engaging in buying and selling and you cannot imagine the amount of money that exchanged hands at the event including transactions on hotel booking and food sellers. We were able to celebrate our cultural diversity and promote peaceful co-existence among ourselves. There were people from the north eating what the people from the south are eating and helping in exchanging our diverse cultures and values during the period of the festival. Rivers State came to the festival with huge contingents but Lagos was able to beat Rivers State to clinch the first position during NAFEST because this is Lagos, and we are always ready to be the first at all times.  

What is your assessment of the performance of the state government in the development of the tourism and entertainment sectors in Lagos?

  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been performing creditably well in the tourism and entertainment sectors by creating an enabling environment for the sector and practitioners to thrive. We had the end-of-the-year Greater Lagos concerts during the Yuletide in December last year attended by people from far and wide who applauded the state government for organising the shows. You cannot imagine the billions of naira that exchanged hands during the events held across Lagos State. We are actually putting together data to inform the public about the number of people that attended the statewide end-of-the-year concerts; Wizkid, Kizz Daniel and Asake were there and many others. Ali Baba also had his own show that was grand, so which other state in the country was able to do what Lagos did in the entertainment sector and promotion of tourism?  We also hosted about 7000 delegates during NAFEST. This shows that Lagos is secure and that the government is working efficiently in the areas of tourism and entertainment sectors and if we are to rate the performance of the state in this light, I will say that we have done more than 80 percent in terms of performance.

How are you going to use the entertainment sector to sensitise youths against drug abuse?

Not long ago, one of our prominent drummers, Ara, held a meeting with us and went to meet Mr Governor along with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development to discuss this very pathetic story of our young people being into different kinds of drugs and how they can use the entertainment platform that promotes it in the past to speak against it.

In the past, I was the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development and we wanted to start a project called Acada before I left. The project was about finding a way to inculcate the people in the entertainment industry to speak against illicit drugs and their usage.

We are looking at partnering with the Ministry of Youth to come together with the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, to have that Acada project because the issue has eaten deep down into the minds of the youth and children of less than 10 years, smoking different kinds of drugs and it is something that we need to look into.

We would also be involving the Ministry of Health; we need to know where they are getting these drugs, so we can make it so difficult for them to access the drugs, and do different kinds of rehabilitation and civic engagements to make the public start speaking against it. So, it is going to be an inter-ministerial project for us in the state.

What is the plan to make the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History attractive to visitors and how do you intend to keep it functional?

The operational module has been well conceived. As we speak, we already have in place the board of trustees chaired by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. We already have the legal team in place and we already have the management team in place. In fact, we are partnering with the British Museum for the training of all the employees. We have the human resource and a competent consultant handling the recruitment of the staff. Also, the National Commission for Museums and Monument are ready to work with us because we all believe in it and we must ensure that we take absolute control, and in another 20 to 30 years, that centre will still be there and will still remain the best in Africa.