The Nation Newspaper

Category: Victor Akande

  • UNBECOMING OF TOKE MAKINWA

    UNBECOMING OF TOKE MAKINWA

    RADIO girl Toke Makinwa will have to deal with this pain for ever. ‘To everyone who is as lost and in pain as I was, choose to believe that the sun will rise again,’ she writes in her new book, detailing her childhood griefs, but mainly about her woes before and during her 18-month marriage to fitness coach Maje Ayida.

    Even if she tries to forget this bitter part of her life story, the book, ‘On Becoming’, will be there to remind her. Who knows, in these times when new entrants into the movie industry, such as Mo Abudu, seek some super stories, hers, may just come handy as another commercial-inclined story of another Nigerian woman in the mix. Her children and grandchildren will ask questions even when she is very old and gone. She will remain in the records as perhaps the most daring Nigerian OAP.

    I have read some of the punch lines in the new book, and as revealing and sympathetic as they seem, my instinct does not agree with the writer’s approach and purpose which appears to be a story of triumph. I really can’t see clearly how Toke has won the game. Rather, I see her drawing the line for the next battle of her life.

    The book brings another woman, Anita Solomon, who is alleged to be responsible for the crash of the union into the picture. And while Maje never wanted Toke to get pregnant for him, Anita is said to have been delivered of a son who turned a year old a few months ago. It is clear the guy does not want a permanent tie with her.

    Good enough, this new author reveals all the signs of failure in her relationship with Maje, even prior to their marriage. How the eventuality became surprising to her is what I do not understand. Long before I became a man, I’d always armed myself with the saying, “your wife/husband is not the one you love, but the one who loves you.”

    There are stories of men who undeniably love their wives yet cheat, going by what is generally termed man’s innate promiscuous nature; for Maje, it is clear whatever he felt or still feels for Toke, does not fit the definition of love.

    Toke probably had 99.9% influence on Maje, given reason the relationship endured, but there is a one percent that defines fulfilment in a person, and as minute as it seems, it rocked the boat of this celebrity marriage, with Maje heaving a sigh of relief. Forget his diplomatic mien or show of remorse.

    There is a man for every woman; only if we refuse to be moved by sight. May Ellen Ezekiel of blessed memory once said: “If you love a thing, let it go. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it was never meant to be.” Toke was too magnetic for Maje, and the latter had been slave to her influences while their romance lasted.

    When you lure a man into ‘sympathy relationship’, it’s only a matter of time before the time bomb explodes. To me, theirs is a case of a careless woman and a dishonorable man. Toke and Maje are the proverbial two wrongs that don’t make a right.

    To purge herself of the hurts, there is no need to whip up further sympathy. Unless you are talking to the younger girls on the signs to note when a man is cheating, who needs details of how you were infected with STD? I bet that today’s secondary school girls are wiser. Therefore, if the revelations are for girls of your age, then it comes to me as trying to ridicule Maje and pretending you have overcome. Girl, if anyone has moved on, it is the guy.

    Although the world now consumes your story, one cannot say it is the best thing for you. Like they say, ‘sometimes, the activities of a madman in the market place thrill; no one would wish to have him as a relation.’ You will get thumbs up that may give you a false sense of fulfilment. This could come majorly from even older women; some with delayed marriages or in a bad relationship, even single mothers. It is entirely up to you to choose a new society of women, but the consequences of an uncommon association is felt alone, and at one’s private moment.

    When you go pass your prime and the effect of your bleached skin sets in proper, you will remember Maje again. But the lesson is not for you, but for your unborn children. Let them know that you were as guilty as Maje in this faulty relationship.

  • TOYIN AIMAKHU: THE PAST CAME CALLING

    HOW can she get this boy off her back? It was only a stint romp, but the romance was faulty from start to finish. And if actress Toyin Aimakhu had enjoyed some monetary largess from Seun Egbegbe, it is doubtful that they are worth the shameful incidents in the aftermath of that affair.

    ‘Nobody’ knew who Seun Egbegbe was, until about a year ago when the actress introduced him to the media in the course of their controversial romance. She had just left her husband and fellow actor, Niyi Johnson, on the account of infidelity, leaving many to wonder if Egbegbe was any better

    They had concealed the relationship initially; with Aimakhu claiming it was avuncular, but it only a matter of time before denial gave way to silence that spoke volumes. He took her on a secret romantic trip to Dubai in September 2015 and presented her with a Range Rover SUV, stuff that it was clear her struggling ex-hubby couldn’t afford. She threw caution to the wind until the breeze blew back with unpleasant heat. She must contend with his illiterate mien, domineering attitude, petty jealousy, assault and public ridicule.

    About this period last year, Egbegbe dispossessed her of the Range Rover SUV when he arrived a movie set in rage, ordering her to surrender the car key. Early this year, Egbegbe was alleged to have kidnapped the actress as a way of preventing her from social media activities for a while. He became a thorn in her flesh, boasting to bring her career to an end. When it was obvious she could no longer live with his attitude, she involved the police who made Egbegbe to sign an undertaken never to threaten her again. She had confessed that his threats affected her business as other producers refused to cast her for movie roles in order to avoid Egbegbe’s trouble.

    With the episode on Egbegbe formally closed to her life and career, Aimakhu must have been advised to do something that will make fans see her in positive light again. That was when she joined the #SaveMayowaCampaign that sought fund for the now deceased 29-year old Mayowa Ahmed who battled Ovarian Cancer. Everything appears to be working for her until she made another gaffe that sent tongues wagging. Aimakhu pulled out of the fund-raising over reports that the lady’s parents knew she could not be cured but went on with the fund-raising. They thought she betrayed the sick and hasten her to the grave for giving up, perhaps for the worst reason.

    The media has not forgotten how Egbegbe sneaked to its headlines. Thus, when anything pops up about the guy, he is quickly linked to the actress. Unfortunately, nothing remarkable about him has surfaced; not a movie he produced or marketed has made anything worth the talks, until he was caught stealing in the market place. And that has given him another identity as a thief, the worst so far, compared to previous adjectives like controversial, arrogant, extravagant and assaultive.

    Last Tuesday, Egbegbe was beaten to pulp for trying to steal nine pieces of iPhones at the Computer Village, Lagos. He was only rescued and detained by the police.

    The incident has put a question mark to his source of riches, especially with the loss recorded by filmmakers in the face of intense piracy.

    The effrontery of carting away a heap of mobile phones leaves much to the imagination, that some insinuating he could have depended on some spiritual powers which eventually failed. It was as though the shop attendant suddenly came out of hypnosis only to run towards Egbegbe who was about driving off in his jeep.

    Attempting to make a cover-up, Egbegbe claimed he was going to bring the money from his car. But that was for the lazy press to consume, because if that was the case, bringing out the money could have proved he had a genuine motive and that could have spared him the mob action. And come to think of it, each of that phone costs close to N300, 000 and one wonders if he had approximately N3million to pay for the entire phones.

    Well, all those excuses came on the spur of the moment. The shame can no longer be covered, as the Police, on Thursday, charged the case to court after he spent two nights in their custody, from where he was remanded in Kirikiri prison.

    This may be the tale of a Yoruba film marketer; the life story of Toyin Aimakhu will not be complete without the name of Seun Egbegbe. The stigma, as it is for the actress, is a rotten past which keeps hunting her. For her ex-husband, Johnson, they probably were not meant to be.

  • OF NIGHT CLUBS, BOUNCERS AND HAUGHTY CELEBS

    PROMPTED by the recent brawl involving singer Oritsefemi and security guys at the popular Quilox Night Club last weekend, I imagine the calling of the muscular-built guys called bouncers, and how they are often caught between the devil and the red blue sea; a funny case of a pay master who calls the tune, and on the other hand, some arrogant, youthful exuberant, lavish celebrity spenders with the tendency to break the rules.

    If the Yoruba proverb that says an emissary should dread the sender and not the receiver of a threat message is anything to go by, perhaps the inventor of the maxim had no fore knowledge of rebels who dare kings. In fact, the Yoruba history has the story of Efunsetan Aniwura, a very powerful Ibadan women leader who became a terror and when ordered by the king to leave town, made the emissaries captives for failing to decline the king’s order.

    While it may be correct to say that fights occur in most night clubs, Quilox has recorded perhaps a highest number of such incidents from celebrities whose arrogance, mixed with intoxication is often vented on the bouncers take orders from the club owners. And I think that the management of the Club, for whatever flexibility, has a hand in the fault, because if the rules were clear, there would be fewer incidences.

    In the Oritsefemi vs Quilox saga, everyone had told their side of the story and it is evident either one party or both have lied in order to come out clean. But they are both dirty – just like the pig and its fighter. While Oritse femi’s account was so disjointed, the official statement from Quilox was too smooth to be true.

    Oritsefemi said: “…When I realised he wanted to blow me, I was holding a glass cup with little drink inside. My right hand mistaking hits one of his eye as self defense. Blood started rushing out… They beat me black and blue until I fainted. They stripped me naked inside the club premises. One of the bouncers stole my neck lace jewelry worth 8.5 million naira on the spot. They dragged me on the floor for almost one hour before the Police came to rescue me.”

    Quilox said: “Oritsefemi who was drinking from the patron’s bottle, attempted to seat eight of his guests at the table, the surprised patron strongly rejected such effrontery and invited the bouncer guarding the floor to intervene… the bouncer politely approached Oritsefemi and told him the patron’s guests were still being expected, but Oritsefemi, in a fit of unprovoked rage, slapped the bouncer, then proceeded to breaking a glass in his hand and stabbing him in the eye…”

    From Quilox to Rehab, Nu Grotto and several other night clubs in Lagos, the unfortunate happens:  At Quilox, Wizkid had a brawl with Dammy Krane in which the former hit the latter with a bottle in the head. M.I also had something ugly to say about the bouncers at the club. Davido was reportedly embarrassed out of the club after spending N19 million on drinks with his friends (I cringed at the figure).

    At Rehab Night Club, rapper Ikechukwu had a fight with a bouncer when they wouldn’t let him through the gates. The bouncer he fought with bled through the nose. People say he has a ‘black belt’. He apologised in the end. They always do in their sober moments; Oritse femi too, after all said and done, described his act as ‘unruly’.

    Of course, we also heard the story of how Davido’s bouncer once beat up a DJ and a bouncer at Nu Grotto, destroying some properties of the club in the process.

    Truth is, if Nigeria were a gun-carrying country, it is imaginable how bad the situations at night clubs would turn. Hip hop singers try to outdo club security men. The artistes themselves lift ‘irons’ to build muscles and employ giant body guards who look down at club bouncers (of course they are better paid). In all, the management of the club must decide whether to allow the celebrities have a field day for spending their millions, or adhere to stringent rules that may not bring all the money but could ensure sanity, class and dignity.

    There are men of honour out there who want to enjoy a cool nightlife. Thus, when my editor asked if any of the clubs around has got the standard of the now rested Niteshift Coliseum, it got me really thinking. Do they?

  • FANATICISM LIMITED BY POLITICS

    UNTIL religious organisations lose membership by half over failed prophecies or inept leadership of their leaders would political fanaticism wane. However, recent events have proved that social fanaticism which endears revelers especially to entertainers has no much space in politics.

    Wikipedia describes a fan, a fanatic, an aficionado or supporter, as a person who is enthusiastically devoted to something or somebody, usually to a band, a sports team, a genre, a book, a movie or an entertainer.

    The Muhammadu Buhari’s and Donald Trump’s elections are pointers to the fact that if there was any crazy logic attached to celebrity fan base, it is foiled by politics, because it seems that when it comes to choosing their leaders, the choice of their cherished celebrity makes little or no difference.

    If the number of celebrity endorsements of a political candidate in Nigeria was anything to go by, former President Goodluck Jonathan could have won the 2015 election that returned President Muhammadu Buhari to power. Indeed, never had the entertainment industry been so divided with majority rooting for the former president. But the electorate separated a fantastic entertainer from who a good role model was. They went for the incumbent president despite the fact that he did not hide his disdain for corruption coupled with his ‘toughness’ as a former military leader.

    Americans did the same last Tuesday by shunning the numerous celebrity endorsements of Hillary Clinton and went all hog for Donald Trump despite his controversial, radical and undiplomatic nature.

    Never had America witness the kind of aggressive support for a candidate who could have made history as their first female president in a contest that brought her close contender so much hate, over campaign promises that were perceived to be capable of hindering freedom.

    The most prominent of the Clinton campaigners was Katy Perry, who went naked on social media in a sort of sex appeal that is known to suffice as marketing tool.

    Katy has been stumping for Hillary since the primaries, trending with hashtags like #ImWithHer ball gown. And just after Trump’s “nasty woman” comment, she was one of the first celebs to order a shirt which she wore while campaigning for Hillary on a college campus.

    Katy even used Halloween as an excuse to make headlines for Hillary, undergoing a total transformation, with the help of professional makeup artists and prosthetics, just as she let Clinton use her hit song, Roar in a final wave of powerful campaign adverts.

    Others celebrities who showed so much commitment to the Clinton cause include Taylor Swift, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Beyonce.

    Perhaps the most unprecedented support for Hillary was the one from Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican and former California Governor who, in October made headlines when he publicly announced that he would not vote for Donald Trump.

    He said: “For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for president. Like many Americans, I’ve been conflicted this election….But as proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label I hold above all else — American. So I want to take a moment to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party—it is your duty.”

    With Lady Gaga protesting outside Trump Tower after the election and Katy Perry speaking ‘revolution’, respondents think they are taking their emotions too far.

    “The problem with the so called celeb,” according to one of them, “is that 14 year old school girls who are the only people who are impressed by the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry can’t vote. But Hillary Clinton couldn’t work that one out.”

    “Hopefully, this’ll end the rush for celebrity endorsement. Tiresome and detrimental,” another said who added: “All the celebrities in Hilary’s camp are only mortified because they feel their celeb status was very ineffective to the cause and are feeling worthless this morning as their egos are deflated.”

  • WHY FUNKE AKINDELE IS HUGE IN LONDON

    POPULAR Nigerian actress and comedian, Funke Akindele, though married to London-based singer, Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC, has long ‘possessed’ London as her second home outside of Lagos.

    It is not clear how the Glo ambassador and crossover thespian got to this point in her life, but recent events show that just as Genevieve Nnaji was practically living in Ghana in her heydays, Jenifa, as Funke Akindele is otherwise called, enjoys a fan base that endears her to London than any other city in the world.

    This weekend, the actress holds sway with the three premieres of a two-hour cut of her current series, Jenifa’s Diary, a feat never attained by any of the Nigerian films which have been premiered in London.

    Promoters of the back-to-back screenings which kicked off on Friday, at The Lighthouse, Camberwell Rd, London, followed today’s show at The Dance House, 10 Oxford Road, Manchester, and another leg tomorrow, at the The Lighthouse, London, say Funke Akindele’s events despite being staged in series, happen to be the most sold-out of Nigerian film shows in the United Kingdom.

    How would you describe Funke’s popularity in London? I asked her event manager, DJ Abbas in London recently. “It is huge…  Very huge o,” he said. “We have sold out Friday which is a 600 capacity venue and there are indications that we will do the same for Sunday in London. Manchester is a 500 capacity venue and it is almost sold out as well.”

    The film is a two-hour cinematic version cut from Season 7 and 8 of Jenifa’s Diary which is about 24 episodes. Funke has been advised on the need to release that same film in Nigeria in the hope that it will match, if not exceed the over one hundred million box office hit of Ayo Makun’s A Trip to Jamaica.

    It is amazing how a single film from Nigeria would attain such back-to-back exposure, but it is understandable, given that the U.K has the largest community of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the world. How the actress is able to carve a niche for herself in this market has to do with a business and social aura that is aided by today’s media. And it is doubtful that any other Nollywood figure can pull this kind of stuff right now in the U.K.

    I tried to figure out if this is just about Jenifa’s Diary or the actress’ personality. I asked questions too, and it is amazing that there is something about her personality that suffices, despite odds.

    Reports have it that in July when she launched her new season, she had a deal with iRoko TV where she had a Meet & Greet session in a 380 capacity venue and it was sold out in no time. Indeed, the attraction is Funke, whose rise may have been induced by the Jenifa brand. This much I witnessed of her in Toronto in 2008 where she took her art, when a huge number if the Nigerian community gave her a colourful welcome at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

    Today, apart from the campaigns that her event managers might be doing, it is said that her fans are doing more through social media retweets and reposts. This situation could have helped a great deal to build such huge fan base for Jenifa in London.

    Let’s just say that the actress has done so well for herself to earn this feat, because despite the ‘parallel’ line that exists between the Yoruba and English language sectors in Nollywood, Funke has been able to crisscross from television to mainstream Yoruba sector and the hub of today’s Nollywood quantum productions which is in Asaba, Delta State.

  • WHEN LOCAL CONTENTS CRY FOUL

    I have no idea if Nigerian musicians ever protested to disc jockeys and radio stations in the days when foreign music was the in-thing here. However, some Nigerian filmmakers whose films supposedly do not make box office hit have had reasons to believe something is wrong with the distribution system which seems to be more in favour of foreign movies.

    I am of the opinion that no matter how derogatory we term the shrewdness of some entrepreneurs, we must understand they are in business for one basic reason; profit. Therefore, to allege favoritism is to undermine the power of demand and supply as determinants of how the pendulum swings in the market space. Like someone opined, “In business, you have to earn your staying power as a product in the market.”

    We have heard stories of how some Nigerian films are taken off the cinemas after a week of showcase. Emotions have led to arguments in this regard, with many calling for the heads of the cinema owners. But conspiracy against the exhibitors has not been successful because some Nigerian filmmakers have enjoyed robust exposure, to the extent of rivaling some foreign films in sales volume. Some have even blamed the seeming monopoly in the business as reason, but with the entrant of new cinemas in Nigeria, the situation still remains, therefore giving credence to the fact that the basic principles that governs business is universal.

    Recently, former president of Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN), Femi Odugbemi, called for change in the current distribution system for Nigerian films in Nigeria, describing what obtains now as elitist.

    Odugbemi who was speaking with TNS about how his new film, Gidi Blues, performed in the cinemas decried what he called the absence of a level playing field between Nigerian and foreign films. He said the fact that there are very few cinemas in existence in Nigeria makes the distribution chain somewhat elitist. He therefore advocated for collaboration between filmmakers and distributors to bring about progress while also harping on the need for a conscious development agenda for our cinemas.

    While I agree with the need for a conscious development agenda for our cinemas, I am of the view that this should be directed to our policy makers whose directives on local content consumption are the rule to be obeyed by the distributors.

    I agree: “If you put a Nigerian film at 10am, in the morning on a weekday, how much publicity can you do to get people to leave their offices to go there? If you put only American films at prime time slots, of course, you cheat both your audience and the filmmaker.” Thus, we should take a cue from South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) which recently announced a 90% local content quota for TV. The management of the Corporation first announced a new language policy across the stations and then called a meeting with local film producers to find out how they can make the process of producing more local content a lot easier.

    Credit must be given to the erstwhile DG of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba who heeded the protest by independent producers over the then airing of Mexican soaps and other foreign contents during the family belt (peak) hours. The producers confessed that that reversal helped to boost their production of local series and soaps on terrestrial television.

    Beyond this policy window which to me is in order, considering also that we need to encourage the banks doling out loans to filmmakers to recover their investment, it is important for commercial filmmakers to conduct market surveys at all times, and know what the audience wants in addition to upping the ante. They cannot continue to blame the distributors or exhibitors for the reason their films didn’t do well in the cinemas, as this case cannot be across board. Like a filmmaker, Chris Ekejimbe said, “Let’s stop reading conspiracy theories in failures, but analyze circumstances with a view to conquering.”

    Usually, the cinema houses schedule movies for prime time in the first week. Depending on the returns or prospects of the movie that week, the next week may see the movie retaining prime slots or going to morning or early afternoon slots.

    Owner of Filmhouse cinema and its distribution arm, FilmOne, Kene Mkparu, while responding to the different arguments on the issue, attempted a bail out, albeit he thinks this will make another intellectual discussion at future industry forum.

    “When it’s time to pay back the banks, where is the compassion for the cinemas?” he asked. “This is the point filmmakers refuse to accept and focus on… It’s about what the audience/consumer wants, not what the filmmaker wants or thinks is good enough!”

    According to Mkparu, “Filmmaker makes a good movie (to them), but audience refuse to go see it, and the good film fails in the cinema (it may subsequently do well at home or online).

    “But the filmmaker blames cinema and everyone else but not the product.

    “In some cases the film is good but no marketing, so the audience doesn’t know the film is even showing.

    “Perhaps anyone that complains about scheduling should show what times their movies got. Then comments may be made with facts!”

    He said it is not true that American films always have the upper hand over Nigerian cinemas. “Majority of the Oscar winning titles this year that played in the cinemas in Nigeria didn’t do well.”

    For Nollywood cinema movies which had great production values, good marketing and a good story and still didn’t do well at the cinemas, Moses Babatope of Filmhouse believes that wrong dating could be responsible. “Some filmmakers also undermine the importance of a well thought out ‘Dating Strategy’ when it comes to releases. You can have a well made film, with good marketing and a popular story line but releasing it on a wrong date can hamper the film’s commercial chances.”

    According to Babatope, “The cinema audience is still quite narrow especially because we are not able to open cinema locations fast enough. This means that most films are catering for/to essentially the same audience. When you then release your film on the same date or very close to a blockbuster, you take a huge risk of severely diluting your audience and compromising your film’s box office chances. There are of course exceptions to this theory but you will notice that those exceptions are the films that rank the highest on the box office charts.”

  • AUDU MAIKORI HEADS CHIVAS’ ‘THE VENTURE’ PANEL

    AUDU MAIKORI HEADS CHIVAS’ ‘THE VENTURE’ PANEL

    WITH over $1 million in funding and resources, Chivas Regal has announced the return of The Venture, a global search to find and support the next generation of startups.

    Making the announcement last Wednesday at a press conference held at Film House, Lekki, the management of Chivas revealed that the 2016/2017 edition of The Venture has begun its search for entrepreneurs that want to succeed whilst positively impacting the lives of others.

    Craig Van Niekerk, Marketing Director, Pernod Ricard Nigeria, stated that; “A new breed of entrepreneur is emerging in Nigeria; one that uses business ideas to succeed whilst making a positive impact on the lives of others. Chivas Regal launched The Venture to offer significant resources to help drive and support the social entrepreneurship movement worldwide and in Nigeria.”

    This year, 32 countries across 6 continents will be taking part and applications will be accepted from any for-profit-startup that creates both financial value and a positive impact on the lives of others.

    Chivas Regal has partnered with E.D.C (Enterprise Development Centre) – for this years’ initiative, to find and support promising local social entrepreneurs across all sectors.

    The top three participants will pitch their business plans at a finale session to a panel of industry experts chaired by AuduMaikori.

    “Chivas and I share the same values – the belief that businesses must have a purpose beyond profit. It is therefore an absolute honour to be back again as a judge, to find like-minded individuals who are not only successful within their own rights but sharing their success with their communities. This is profit with purpose,” Maikori said of his relationship with the brand.

    The winner will join the other 32 participants across the world in an Accelerator Week programme in Oxford, UK and will represent Nigeria at The Venture final event in the USA, July 2017.

  • ‘I BELIEVE IN GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY’

    POPULAR Yoruba movie actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, has revealed that she will be unveiling a new project, tagged The Mercy Project; which will have lucky winners get free courses at her school.

    Explaining the reason behind the new concept she stated, “It has been an eventful year and I believe you will agree with me when I say the Nigerian economy is growing but more work needs to be done. We still see youths wasting away, graduates roaming the streets without jobs; the less privileged being ignored, the homeless and orphans treated like non human.

    “These issues reawakened my passion of building the Nigerian economy and developing the Nigeria of my dream by giving back in my own little way; this gave birth to my registered foundation, the Mercy Aigbe -Gentry Foundation, she added.

    “The aim of the foundation is to help put smiles on people’s faces and help the less privileged. In the spirit of giving back we came up with an initiative called, The Mercy Project; the Mercy Project is about mentoring, and empowerment. We intend to help secure the future of Nigerian youths by empowering them and hence bringing their dreams into reality,” she stated further.

    “Under this project lucky winners will be trained for free in some skills, and when they are done, they will be given equipments, financial assistance and other necessary assistance to help them kick starts their careers.”

    Skills available include: Fashion Designing, Theatre Arts, Hair Styling, I.C.T, Make Over, Beads making.

  • KUNLE AFOLAYAN: A CULTURE AMBASSADOR NEXT DOOR (2)

    WE have had a couple of fun times together during local and international film festivals and other events that took the African cinema on tour, and many would tell you that the presence of filmmaker Kunle Afolayan usually adds glitz and entertainment to every outing, a situation which sets him aside an in-born entertainer. But the first time I took a notice of his more diverse creativity was in 2014, at the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) which held in Calabar, Cross River State.

    Afolayan and his Dazzling Mirage spouse, Kemi Lala-Akindoju took to the stage when it appeared the band members at the Tinapa Lake Hotel were tired. From Kcee’s Limpopo, which Lala remixed into reggae to Victor Olaiya’s Baby Jowo which Afolayan led, and several other contemporary and highlife tunes, both artistes showed that their talents aren’t limited to acting – it was the best of duets by these artistes who merely improvised to make the evening tick, and fellow artistes not only cheered them to high heavens, they danced emotionally to the songs.

    Again, away from his promotion of the African culture through his films, Kunle Afolayan, last month, made debut with a magazine entertainment event which targets the renaissance of the African tradition through a potpourri of exciting offerings such as local food and drinks, music, dance and poetry.

    Tagged Kulture Centrik, the aura at the pool side of Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, venue of the event, on September 29, 2016, brought so much to desire of life before the massive rural-urban migration.  Afolayan’s opening signature at the show was greeted with loud applause, as he arrived paddling a canoe.  This was just as masquerades and a troupe of dancers announced his grand entry.

    The cultural fanfare continued with performances by Nigerian soul singer, GT Da Guitarman, performing his hit single, Ejika; Adekunle Gold with his rave songs; the legendary Jimi Solanke ever green show; Salawa Abeni with her classics and Seyi Solagbade’s popular songs which he jointly performed with Afolayan.

    It is very likely that this monthly event will celebrate the foods, drinks, music, dance and splendour of other ethnic groups in the country, going by what the convener described as a goal to celebrate the arts, culture, and heritage of the great people of Nigeria.

    Another strong incident that defined this filmmaker’s passion for tradition was his recent trail of Yoruba deities; considered as the original religions of Africa which he said have been declining over time owing to the influence of western acculturation by Christianity and Islam. Ifa, the original religion of the Yorubas, is one of such African religions caught in this erosion and Afolayan thought it would make an interesting exposé if reasons leading to this are revisited and presented in film documentary. The result was a series of lessons on Yoruba traditional religion that made debut on Mnet on January 1, 2013.

    A young and curious filmmaker; the creative ingenuity of Afolayan is so riotous to the degree that some feel that playing along the edge of the rule is precarious. But the young man has got the creative license to provoke thoughts.

    At the wake of 2013, the native of Igbonna, Kwara State, thought of the traditional connection of the Yoruba race with Brazil, and decided to travel to Rio, armed with still and video cameras.

    Six hours by flight to South Africa, five hours of waiting to connect, another 10 hours by flight to Sao Paolo, eight hours of waiting to connect, yet another 1 hour’s flight to Rio, Afolayan made for himself another family of Ifa worshippers, spending seven days as a sojourner. Yes, their language is Portuguese, but like a Muslim who may not speak Arab but recites the Holy Quran fluently, these families who do not speak Yoruba recite the Ifa verses in Yoruba language. A stunned Afolayan could not believe this.

    Needless to say that this experience which later took him to Cuba, was the beginning of his studentship of the Yoruba traditional religion, honing his skills around Ifa divination, the Olodumare (self-existing deity) and the Orishas; known to be the intermediaries between Olodumare and humanity. These smaller deities, like you would find in a Babalawo scene in a Yoruba movie include: Esu, (a trickster deity who generates confusion but is also a protector); Ibeji (the deity of twins); Ogun (the god of iron, war, justice); Orunmila (the oracle divinity); Osanyin (the god of magic and medicine); Osun (the goddess of the river Osun); Oya (the goddess of the river Niger); Sango(the god of thunder and lightning; Sopona (the divinity associated with smallpox); and Yemoja (the goddess of all rivers) among others.

    Back in Nigeria, the expedition took him round the South Western states where for several weeks he was the guest of Obas, High Chiefs and Ifa Priests, and other custodians of culture, tradition and religion within the Oduduwa kingdom. The said 26-episode documentary features these Royal Fathers of Yoruba land, Ifa Priests, shrines, cultural festivals, traditional games and the general lifestyle of the descendants of Oduduwa. When next you find yourself in the company of the actor, dial his phone number, and just listen to his ring tone. You may find out that it is an Ifa chant through the voice of High Priest Ifayemi Elebuibon, a famous Babalawo in Yoruba film and title holder of Araba Awo of Osogboland, Osun state.

    This is how personally passionate Afolayan is getting with culture and tradition. He is not only thrilled by his new discoveries, he is excited about its predictive audiences and perhaps the filmic style that will further assert him as a creative filmmaker.

    For this unusual passion in a world widely eroded by western culture, this rave-of-the-moment filmmaker and scion of doyen of Nigerian theater; Ade Love, dumped a promising banking career to promote our culture through arts and entertainment. Indeed, Kunle, as many call him, is a cultural ambassador next door, if only we can see it.

  • NOLLYWOOD: DISPELLING OLD VS. NEW SENTIMENT (2)

    I received some calls after last week’s edition on the above subject, mostly from the younger Nollywood artistes, debunking perception that they started such campaign of calumny that appears to be dividing the industry along a demographic/year of entry line.

    “Young Nollywood is not attacking anyone. It’s the older people that started this divide and attacking and tearing down,” one of them said to me.

    “There’s no new or old Nollywood. It’s even more of the older people who started calling the younger ones new Nollywood,” said another.

    Your article sounds like we think we have arrived and are attacking; that’s not true o,” another one said. They said the latest onslaught started after an older colleague referred to OC Ukeje and Blossom Chukwujekwu as Instagram actors on air.

    Without sounding judgmental, I want to disagree that these two actors do not deserve that description. It seems that when we quarrel among ourselves in this manner, we are merely venting our anger on the sensations of a given time. Yet, we cannot stop the world from evolving, because, like I said in the previous piece, life is a journey of new discoveries.

    The Instagram vogue does not exclude anyone who is upwardly mobile. It is the kind of business strategy or marketing platform that drives a fan base, if you like. And it does not in any way define who these artistes are.

    Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) did not see Ukeje merely as an Instagram actor to have invited him to lead a conversation at the last edition.

    In case the guy does not know OC Ukeje, here is how TIFF described him: “a Lagos-born actor, singer and performer. Winner of the 2006 Amstel Malta Box Office reality TV show for actors, he later trained at the New York Film Academy. He has won several Best Actor awards, including the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award, a Nigeria Entertainment Award, an Africa Movie Academy Award, and a Best of Nollywood Award.”

    His films include Teco Benson’s Two Brides and a Baby (2011); Jeta Amata’s Black November (2012); Half of a Yellow Sun (2013), based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s bestselling novel; Destiny Ekaragha’s Gone too Far!(2013); Kenneth Gyang’s Confusion Na Wa (2013); Seyi Babatope’s When Love Happens (2014); the television series Gidi Up; Remi Vaughan-Richards’ The Department (2015); Sara Blecher’s Ayanda (2015); and Niyi Akinmolayan’s The Arbitration (2016), which plays at the Festival.

    For Chukwujekwu who made his professional acting debut in 2009 and won the Best Supporting Actor Award at last year’s edition of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award, here is what Wikipedia has to say: “In 2009, after several auditions Chukwujekwu landed the lead role in the yet to be released Nigeria soap opera; Portrait Of Passion. That same year he was cast in his first feature film, Vivian Ejike’s Private Storm alongside Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Ramsey Nouah.

    Blossom was profiled on Africa Magic’s Nollywood show, Jara, as one of the top 5 actors to watch out for in 2013. He was number 4 on ace Nollywood director, Charles Novia’s, list of the best actors of 2013. In 2012, Chukwujekwu landed a role in Flower Girl which was his breakout movie.

    Released in 2013, it achieved critical and commercial success in Nigeria, Ghana, the United Kingdom and film festivals in the USA and Canada. Chukwujekwu’s next block buster feature film, Finding Mercy, was one of the most anticipated and successful movies of 2013. It was the closing film at the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF 2013).

    In 2014 Knocking on Heaven’s Door opened in cinemas nationwide on April 18. Chukwujekwu’s performance as the abusive and emotionally volatile “Moses” earned him the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice 2015 Best Supporting Actor award.

    He has featured in a handful of TV dramas & series, such as Tinsel on MNET, where he played Mr. Akinlolu Hart, MTVBASE’s HIV themed Shuga, CATWALQ by Emem Isong and Monalisa Chinda, Greg Odutayo’s My Mum and I, About to Wed and Married.

    Chukwujekwu plays the lead role of Kelechi Pepple in Nigeria’s first indigenous Telenovella; Taste of Love (2015).

    If you described the two actors profiled above as Instagram stars, that was a careless talk. And indeed, you don’t expect the younger filmmakers to sit back and not set the records straight by correcting wrong impressions.

    The fact that you are old school does not mean you should not be in vogue. Not when someone like my grandmother is on Facebook. People should make use of the tools available to them to rule every moment of their lives.

    I am a witness to how Tunde Kelani and Tade Ogidan have celebrated Kunle Afolayan. Those are elders who mean well for the industry and are not afraid of competition. Afterall, don’t we pray that our kids should surpass our achievements in Life?

    Respect is reciprocal. And this is not just for the guy who denigrated the above actors but for other older folks with similar mind. Call some other younger actors Instagram stars and you’d be fine, but not OC Ukeje and Blossom Chukwujekwu.