Category: Entertainment

After a beautiful outing in 2021, the 2022 edition of FirstBank’s DecemberIssaVybe campaign was taken to a new height with shows headlined by Wizkid, Asake, and Kizz Daniel amongst others.

The campaign, again, created exciting opportunities for individuals and families to celebrate the end of the year with a long list of events that birthed fun memories.

From Culturati to Beeta Arts Festival Abuja, Koffi Tha Guru Unorthodox, Duke of Shomolu Production’s Encore, Our Duke Has Gone Mad Again and Ufok Iban, FirstBank’s DecemberIssaVybe 2022 was witnessed by many, and left exciting moments.

After the Kizz Daniel event on Saturday, December 17 at the Eko Convention Center, Victoria Island, Lagos, fun seekers knew the 2022 edition of the campaign will be a rollercoaster. The show saw the ‘Buga’ king serenading attendees with hits upon hits till the wee hours of the morning.

Then came Asake’s Mr. Money with the Vibe concert at the same venue on December 22. Asake surely came with the vibes from his performance of his hit songs to different dance routines, he left fans asking for more. His first rendition was ‘organise’ then his duet with Fireboy DML on ‘Bandana,’ before engaging the fans with ‘Peace Be Unto You,’ ‘Joha,’ ‘Dupe,’ ‘Mr. Money,’ Sunmomi,’ ‘Palazzo,’ ‘Nzaza,’ and ‘Loaded.’

Wizkid’s Vibes on the Beach on Friday, December 30, at Landmark Beach, Oniru, Lagos, rounded off the fun as the Grammy award-winning music star left fans asking for more with his performance. Fans sang along as he sang many of his hit songs and interacted with the Lagos crowd and Nigerians from the diaspora, who were in town for the end-of-the-year festivities.

In addition to providing these memorable experiences, FirstBank also demonstrated its commitment by rewarding attendees with the sum of N1 million. This is aside from organising several contests on social media where many followers won VIP tickets for the concerts.

Other activities supported were: Joromi: The Musical Concert; Osamede, Awo, and Ufok Iban by Duke of Shomolu Productions.

Overall, the “#DecemberIssaVybe” campaign is a testament to FirstBank’s commitment to supporting the arts and providing enabling opportunities for its stakeholders.   

After a competitive battle of wits, beauty, and candour, 24-year-old Elizabeth Ehi Jones has emerged as the 2022 Face of Idoma International.

Ehi smiled home with the star prize of a brand new car at the pageant which was held in Otukpo, Benue State.

In the same vein, Esther Ochoche Ehi (Miss Agate) also emerged Face of Idoma Tourism.

Announcing the winner, the panel of judges led by Nollywood actress, Lucy Ameh, described the contest as a tough fight.

She admitted that it was a tough decision because all the contestants were outstanding.

Speaking shortly after her victory, Queen Ehi promised to advocate for the girl child and women through her pet project during her reign.

Founder and President of Idoma Carnival, the parent body of the Face of Idoma International Beauty Pageant, Chief Edwin Ochai, said FOI was established in 2013 as one of the highlights marking the annual Idoma International Carnival.

He said, “The contest is about empowering females, giving them a voice to speak up in making a difference. It’s about embracing cultures, accepting our differences, promoting tourism, celebrating our diversity, and understanding that it is what makes us special and unique.

“It is our dream and desire to use this platform to showcase, empower and provide the platform for the girl child who unfortunately has been relegated to the background in spite of her potential due to some negative perceptions and wrong cultural orientation and beliefs.”

Barely two weeks after grossing over N135 million in cinemas across Nigeria and West Africa, Funke Akindele’s new film, ‘Battle on Buka Street’ has made a new move.

The film has again gone ahead to gross over N27 million ($61,000) over the four-day New Year weekend in the United States of America.

FilmOne Entertainment (Nigeria) and Part Two Media (USA), with the support of Amplify Africa, released ‘Battle on Buka Street’ on December 30 in only 11 Regal Cinemas on reduced shows, but resulted in sell-outs across the country.

According to reports, it’s the first-ever indigenous Nollywood release in the United States. Due to its performance on the first weekend, Regal has added another 11 locations in the second week due to strong demand and sell-out shows.

Craig Shurn, of Part Two Media, said, “we always knew that ‘Battle on Buka Street’ had the potential to do well in the US, especially after its blockbuster results and status in Nigeria, but we never expected these sorts of figures for the first Nollywood release here. The US African diaspora has been underserved and starved of true African content, especially theatrically, for the longest time, and it is an honor to have brought ‘Battle on Buka Street’ to them eventually. It’s a great start, and it’s exciting what the future holds.”

Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa, from FilmOne Entertainment, added that “with the strong showing of ‘Battle on Buka Street,’ Nigerian film has come full circle, and is gaining more attention from international audiences. As the first indigenous Nollywood release in the US, this film is performing beyond expectation and is an indication of what we should look forward to this year for global releases of films from Nigeria.”  

The 2022 winner of Mr. Nigeria International, Ajewole Odunayo has opened up on the reasons for starting an NGO.

According to the reigning king, some of the challenges he experienced while growing up, motivated him into introducing the new NGO, Make-A-Difference initiative.

In a chat with The Nation, Ajewole highlighted the three categories he intends to focus on with the M.A.D Initiative; “I decided to narrow the M.A.D Initiative down to three categories because we have loads of negative vices in the society that need urgent attention. Under M.A.D Initiative the three major focuses are free medical checkups for senior citizens, visitation to correctional facilities, and free written materials for primary school students. I choose free medical checkups for senior citizens in society because no child deserves to lose his or her parents at an early stage, this was my story, I was two years old when I lost my mum.

“She’s a learned individual but she wasn’t aware of her medical status which led her to an early grave and caused me motherly care at an early stage. For this reason, I choose to use my platform to advocate and create awareness and possible solutions by giving free medical checkups and health sensitization.”

Continuing, he said, “I chose correctional facilities because I did a survey and I realised that a few people visit the correctional facilities, thousands of NGOs concentrate or will rather visit the orphanage, children hospice, and less privileged homes than visiting the correctional facilities. I am changing the narratives by visiting these prisons to let them know that someone of note cares and values their genuine repentance.

On funding, Ajewole said, “But I fell head over heels with this project actualisation. I have been writing and seeking intervention from stakeholders including private organizations to help me achieve this service to humanity through their corporate social responsibility. I am full of hope that all these aforementioned will come to reality soonest. I am using all the philanthropists and humanitarians out there to please support the actualization of this great initiative.”

For its 80th anniversary, the Golden Globe Awards will be held at the Beverly Hilton hotel in California on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

 According to officials, the awards ceremony, which recognises excellence in both American and international film and television will be broadcast live coast-to-coast on NBC and Peacock at 8 PM, ET/5 PM PT for viewers in over 220 countries and territories.

 “It’s great to be back at the Beverly Hilton for the must-see celebration recognising the best in film and television. The HFPA remains committed to important changes and supporting programs that prioritize diversity, inclusion, and transparency,” said Helen Hoehne, President of The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

 To ensure transparency, the HFPA recently announced the introduction of 103 new voters to its ranks, marking the first time international-based voters have been added to the voting pool. This diverse voting body is now represented by 62 different countries around the world. Combined with the current HFPA membership, the total Golden Globe Awards voting body is now 52% female, 51.5% racially and ethnically diverse, with 19.5% Latinx, 12% Asian, 10% Black and 10% Middle Eastern.

By Tunrayo Ilesanmi

The Chief Executive Officer of FLPRO, Fadeyi Oluwatosin aka FadeyiLagos has been basking in the barrage of honours that came his way at the end of 2022.

 After being honoured as the Best spotlight talent manager on October 30, 2022, by Nigeria Achievers Awards, he was again honoured as Africa’s most promising talent manager of the year by the organisers of the Africa Honorary Award in December 2022.

Fadeyi is known to have been working dedicatedly at the backend of the industry through his fast-growing company that attends to the task of talent discovery and amplification. Fadeyi has worked with industry talents like Niniola, Clarence Peters, Akin Alabi, Busiswa, Sesan, Lady Du, and Oskido amongst many others.

Speaking on the honours, he said, “I think to get awards are great, but what matters more is using that as a springboard to achieve even more.’’

On his motivation and drive, Fadeyi says, ‘‘I find satisfaction in seeing people reach the zenith of their potential. We are at the epicenter of African music here in Lagos and in Nigeria. We must find as many gems as possible, polish them till they become their brightest, and then gift them to the world. This is my motivation.’’