Category: Entertainment

Nollywood actress and filmmaker has said that house owners must be educated about the importance of lending their homes to filmmakers during movie productions.

She said that many landlords especially in Lagos are unaware that they can actually make money by giving their houses to filmmakers to use for movie shoots.

The curvy actress told The Nation that the reason why producers often repeat one house in different movies is because of the inability to gain access to other locations.

“I feel like one of the big challenges we have when it comes to location is that a lot of people who own these houses don’t know that they can make a lot of money from location business, they need to educate landlords of Lagos that you can make money from this. It seems that sometimes we are limited to some houses and that’s why you see that we reuse it but you can’t blame anybody, we use what we have,” she said.

Ekezie also lamented the harassment faced by movie practitioners by hoodlums during outdoor shoots.

“The government really needs to look into the harassment we go through when we are trying to shoot outdoors because it is really limiting our movement when it comes to production. Apart from that, I think we are great and are doing okay.”

Genius Hub Global Initiative in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has empowered 50 Edo youths with digital marketing and other in-demand skills.The training was done under the Edo Community based reintegration project, an initiative of Genius Hub.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the beneficiaries on Tuesday in Benin, Mrs. Isimeme Whyte, founder, Genius Hub Global Initiative, said the training was to improve socio-economic development in the state.

Whyte, who expressed gratitude to IOM for the partnership, said the recipients of the initiative were selected from different groups namely returned migrants, community members, and potential migrants

She said they were trained in filmmaking, cinematography, product design, scriptwriting, video editing, and digital marketing.

She explained that 400 persons initially expressed interest but 58 were selected based on assessment for the program that lasted for three months.

She assured that the graduands would be given sophisticated starter packs to help themselves and their respective communities.

According to her, the good thing about this training is that the genius hub provided the trainees with life skills and basic interventions.

“This initiative was targeted at using it as a major approach to sustain projects and programs because it is not just the target beneficiaries that are involved, everyone from that community is involved.

Earlier, Aigbeze Uhimwen, a representative of IOM, on his part, said the project was part of the European Union- funded initiative to engage youths and prevent irregular migration and human trafficking.

He said, “we are happy with the engagement with Genius Hub to make youths usefully engaged and we hope to continue this.”

Also, Bartholomew Brai, Edo Commissioner for Digital Economy, Science, and Technology, in his remarks, enjoined the beneficiaries to make good use of the skills.

He assured that the state government was always ready to support and provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Hundreds of budding talents, who entered the second season of the Covers Africa music TV show, arrived in Lagos on January 12, 2023, to audition for a spot in the show this year.

The information was contained in a release by the organisers their official handle.

According to the Chief Operating Officer / Executive Producer of the show, Daisy Okwa, the second edition will feature some of Africa’s biggest music stars drilling and grooming the contestants at various stages of the audition.

The general audition, which was fixed for Thursday, January 12 in Lekki, Lagos had all contestants give their first shot at fame. Successful contestants proceeded to the screening stage on January 14, to slug it out as judges select talents who will make it into the final stage of the audition.

Segun Obe and Naomi Mac are official voice coaches, while Big Brother ex-housemate, Bam Bam teams up with Soundcity’s VJ Adams as hosts.

The producers had earlier unveiled as judges; musicologist, Ben Ogbeiwi popularly known as Uncle Ben, Nigerian Nollywood actor, film director, and music lover, Daniel Etim Effiong, Nigerian award-winning television and radio presenter, Simi Drey and Music Producer & Influencer, Efe Macroc.

The 13- week show will be aired and publicized across top media channels in Africa, promoting the vocal delivery skill of underground African music talents, while entertaining millions of viewers across the globe.

Radio host and member of the Grammy Recording Academy Dr. Sheila O has recounted her experience while promoting Afrobeats on her radio show in Chicago, America.

The renowned show promoter revealed that she got threatened regularly for playing Afrobeats on the radio back in 2017 when the genre wasn’t popular in the United States.

She noted that the success Afrobeats enjoys now is a result of consistency and creativity while also urging musicians and stakeholders not to relent as the genre still has a long way to go. 

“It’s not been easy, in 2017 when we started the radio show in Chicago they used to call the station to threaten me to get this shit off the air saying what’s this crap you’re playing,” said Sheila O.

 “It was really hard, they used to have to walk me to my car but the consistency because I know what we had. I remember when Wizkid met Chris Brown at one of my shows we were there to make that introduction happen. But now I play a J Cole song and I get a call saying what the hell are you playing J Cole song for? Play some Afrobeats, what’s wrong with you? We are growing and getting bigger. That’s why diversity is key, that’s why getting the Grammy inclusion is key and that’s why we are selling out the venues now. My boys sold out 20000 capacity and I’m like some proud mum because I’m proud to see it happen in our time.”

She further forecasted that Afrobeats would get its category at the Grammys someday.

“I see us getting our own category like you see we already have our category in American Music Awards. I see it coming. I just need us to stay creative. Every artist should be themself and be different.”

Sheila O recently hosted a pre-Grammy nominees party in Lagos to celebrate current nominees Tobe Nwigwe and Rockey Dawuni.

Renowned gospel singers including Bob Fitts, and Evang. Bola Are, Bukola Akinade, CAC Mass Choir, and two thousand five hundred (2,500) trumpeters recently converged to light up the 2023 edition of ‘National Praise Concert’ in Lagos.

Other gospel artists who thrilled thousands of Christian faiths at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) were Bidemi Olaoba, Titi Aremu, Alice Ariyo, Harmony Brass Band, and The Lord’s Trumpeters.

The theme, ‘Praise the Lord; for His Mercy Endureth Forever’, the General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church Nigeria and Overseas, Prophet Hezekiah Oladeji urged Nigerians to do away with idolatry so that the Lord can return to them.   “Let’s all believe in Him, and play our roles, He will direct our paths,” he said.

Continuing Oladeji went on “God loves Nigeria so dearly and is still interested in its affairs. Nigeria needs God dearly at this critical time. We are like the proverbial cow without a tail, but God chases away flies and other parasites for us. We believe God will do great things after the program.”

He charged Nigerians not to entertain fear over the coming elections, expressing optimism that God would turn every threat in the country into testimony.

“God owns Nigeria. I want to urge the electorate not to sell their votes for a morsel. More importantly, candidates who lose the election should accept their fate and believe there are other opportunities in the future to make it. Security agencies must play by the rules.”

Following the success of The Real Housewives of Lagos, The Real Housewives of Abuja (RHOAbuja) is set to launch on  February 17.

The Abuja version marks the eighth version of the hit format in Africa and is set to premiere exclusively on Showmax with new episodes dropping every Friday.

Showmax, according to Dr. Busola Tejumola, the executive head of content and West Africa channels at MultiChoice, is taking fans of the beloved The Real Housewives franchise to the city of wealth and power, Abuja.

The new series will follow the luxurious lives of six influential and successful women in Abuja. The women include Arafa, Comfort Booth, OJ Posharella, Princess Jecoco, Samantha Homossany, and Tutupie as they navigate their opulent lives, relationships, family, and businesses within the powerful city of Abuja and beyond.

Arafa is an art entrepreneur, creative director, and founder of Selaralifestyle. She is married and a mother to amazing twins while Comfort Booth is a lawyer, social commentator, travel blogger, and talk show host. She is a partner at Asia Ahmed and Co.

Ojoma Sule, also known as OJ Posharella, is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Posharella Group of Companies. She is also the founder of Posharella Life Foundation, an NGO with the mission to create a better life, society, and world. On the other hand, Princess Jecoco is a lawyer, brand ambassador, influencer, content creator, and hotelier. She is currently the managing director of the Sefcon group of hotels. She is married and a mother to two beautiful, energetic kids.

Samantha Homossany is a wellness entrepreneur and creative director of Zohi Taglit. She is passionate about art, fashion, and style. She is married to an Abuja-based Israeli millionaire and is a mother of four children while Tutupie is a trained and certified chef and event curator. She is the creative director of Urban Day Party.

The cast will give viewers an exclusive glimpse into their fabulous and luxurious lives set in a powerful city like Abuja.

Speaking about the show, Dr. Tejumola said, “We are excited to announce The Real Housewives to the power city of Abuja. Telling our local story is at the core of what we do, and we are glad to continue this partnership with NBCUniversal Formats to bring the franchise to a second city in Nigeria. The show will explore the power and influence of Abuja through the eyes of these fabulous women who are both unique and very entertaining. We are delighted and are certain the viewers will enjoy watching.”

The Real Housewives of Abuja is the second Nigerian installment of the award-winning franchise and the 21st international version of The Real Housewives format.

The Real Wives of Abuja is produced by Delmedia Productions.

Actress Yetunde Bakare has said age fraud aka football age is not peculiar to celebrities alone.

The actress stated it’s a common practice in society for people to falsify their age.

She also highlighted varying reasons individuals across all spheres in society engage in the age reduction practice.

“Lying about one’s age isn’t limited to celebrities alone because a lot of people do it nowadays. Some do it because of their partners and some do it to earn respect.

“Others do it to seek sympathy or get job opportunities. A lot of people in different industries do it as well.

“Many hard-working single ladies do it when searching for Mr Right. In this part of the world, guys see dating an older woman as a taboo. Hence, women reduce their age most times to feel young and accepted,” she said.