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Tag: Nollywood

  • Zuriel Oduwole shines at Nollywood Movies Awards night

    Zuriel Oduwole shines at Nollywood Movies Awards night

    Though the 2014 Nollywood Movies Awards night described as the centenary celebration has come and gone, not a few who witnessed the colourful event will easily forget the face of 12-year-old Zuriel Oduwole whose presence elicited interesting comments by the guests.

    From the moment she walked into the expansive Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue of the show, Oduwole, who was a special guest, was bombarded by cameramen.

    The honour was done her following her award-winning documentary in 2013 and her current documentary.

    The youngster was invited by some TV networks to speak to their audiences and inspire the children who watch it.

    The host, Denrele, stated that he is a big fan of Oduwole, having listened to her, a couple of days earlier, on the TITI radio show, where she talked about her current work with children on basic hand hygiene.

    Half way into the show, she was invited to the stage to give her version of the event and introduce the anchor of the night in her own words.

    Oduwole is currently putting finishing touches to her third documentary due for release before the end of the year. It focuses on a brighter Africa, starting with Nigeria as part of her “Rebranding Africa” initiative.

    In attendance at the glamorous event were actors, producers, directors and movie buffs, among other eminent personalities.

  • BON 2014: Amaechi lauds Nollywood

    BON 2014: Amaechi lauds Nollywood

    •As Iyabo Ojo, Desmond Elliot, Ivie Okujaye, Tope Tedela shine

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has praised the Nigerian motion picture industry for what he described as its pivotal role in the nation’s economy.

    Amaechi, who spoke at the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards, which held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, last Thursday, noted that not only did Nollywood start as a protest literature by addressing social issues, but it also provided employment for several people in the movie production chain.

    But a report purportedly saying that the governor insulted Nollywood practitioners who trained in other professional areas has now gone viral in the social media.

    The governor, who arrived Port Harcourt for the awards ceremony that evening from his trip to Abuja, where General Muhammadu Buhari had declared interest as APC 2015 presidential aspirant the previous day, had just presented Recognition Awards to veteran artistes such as Liz Benson-Ameye, Nobert Young, Kasimu Yero and Adebayo Salami, when he was asked to give his speech on the occasion.

    “Let me say, first and foremost, that this organisation is entirely that of BON Awards…” As if the governor knew that his speech might be misrepresented, he said: “If you were not my friends, we probably wouldn’t have had this hall for use, as some government officials had fixed a dinner or cocktail here this evening before I arrived. But I told them to move it to the other side.” This statement was greeted with thunderous applause.

    Amaechi went further to state how Nollywood had rescued the Nigerian economy, by employing hundreds of thousands of Nigerian youths who, despite their qualifications, may have remained jobless because of the unemployment challenge in Nigeria. Speaking interactively, the governor had asked the audience at each point, if they agreed with his analysis.

    Corroborating his remarks, popular entertainer, Okey Bakassi, confessed he is an Agricultural Engineering graduate of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. This threw the hall into another round of laughter.

    The governor then recalled a recent conversation between actress Kate Henshaw and her colleague, Basorge Tariah Jnr., on how they both used to trek the streets in search of jobs and how Nollywood became the saving grace.

    He then delved into a similar challenge in the banking sector, where a good number of female staff are employed for marketing, noting that such system had been promoting prostitution indirectly.

    He said: “If you look at the Nollywood industry, it first started as a protest literature, an expression by the people that we are tired of the current leadership in Nigeria. We need change. Then, funding of the industry became a problem. The Onitsha traders who began to fund these films now determined what kind of contents that were made. At that point, it was no longer about protest literature… So, they began to explore stories about witchcraft. I stopped watching at that time. But here now, I watched The Meeting (movie produced by Rita Dominic), which again was another protest work of art… In the film, we saw a Minister who was abusing his office; you saw the professor waiting and you saw the whole community of people who tried to see him. But to be able to do so, they have to corrupt the secretary… Our films must continue to explore social issues.”

    He, therefore, urged practitioners to look into producing more movies that will address social messages rather than allowing political interest to becloud their works, saying they owe the country that duty as her heroes.

    “Nollywood is important to me, as it is important to the Nigerian economy. From Kenneth Okonkwo, who has joined politics, to the producers of The Meeting, there is an underlying message, which is the inability of Nigerian elite to lead Nigeria out of the comatose that we found ourselves,” he said. He added that even where jobs are available, the civil service, for example, sometimes does not employ people based on merit.

    The governor then said he had contracted veteran actress Joke Silva to produce into a movie the popular Chinue Achebe’s book, Man of The People, which he said is another socially relevant classic.

    The main categories of the awards gave accolades to the like of Iyabo Ojo whose movie, Silence, clinched the Movie of The Year diadem, while Ivie Okujaye and Tope Tedela won the Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.

    While Desmond Elliot won the Amaka Igwe Director of The Year for the movie, Apaye, Femi Jacobs and Rita Dominic clinched Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively

    Others include Yinka Quadri, who won the Best Actor in the Leading Role (Yoruba) award while Ayo Adesanya picked the Best Supporting Actress (Yoruba) honour. Abdulateef Adedeji and Ijeoma Agu won the Most Promising Actor and Actress; Daniel K Daniel and Linda Ejifor picked Revelation of The Year Male and Female; Olamide Davids’ performance in Black Silhouette fetched him the Best Child Actor, even as Priscilla Ojo, Iyabo Ojo’s daughter won the Best Child Actress laurel.

    Also rewarded are Best Kiss In A Movie-Majid Michel and Beverly Naya (Forgetting June); Movie with the Best Social Message (Our Difference); Movie with the Best Special Effect (A Mile From Home); Best Use of Make Up (Cobra); Best Use of Food (Being Mrs Elliot), Best Sound (Render To Ceaser), Best Production Design (Osunfunke) and Best Short Film (Brave).

    Others are Best Comedy Movie of the Year (30 Days In Atlanta); Best Cinematography (Apaye); Best Screenplay (Render To Ceaser); Best Documentary (Fatai Rolling Dollar); Best Edited Movie (A Mile From Home); and Best TV Series (Lekki Wives).

    Other notable guests at the event are Kenneth Okonkwo, Shola Sobowale, Moses Inwang, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Patience Ozokwor, Ayo Makun (AY) and Emem Isong.

  • How Dora Akunyili inspired my new movie– Nollywood filmmaker Steve Gukas

    How Dora Akunyili inspired my new movie– Nollywood filmmaker Steve Gukas

    Steve Gukas, a notable moviemaker, is the brains behind such productions as Keeping Faith and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation. In this interview with OVWE MEDEME, he talks about his latest film, A Place in the Stars, which is already generating a buzz in Nollywood, among other salient issues.

    WHAT inspired your new work, A Place in the Stars?

    The inspiration behind the movie was my encounter with the late Prof. Dora Akunyili. Thematically, A Place in the Stars is about the change that you want to see. And for me, there was no person living that testimony bigger than Dora Akunyili, in terms of the work she was doing at NAFDAC then.

    I spent quite a number of days with her when I came from the United Kingdom to do a documentary about her work at NAFDAC then. She had just been appointed the Director-General at that time. I was struck by the kind of person she was, her commitment to doing the right thing, even when it meant that her life was in danger. She wanted to see a different trend in Nigeria.

    Eventually, you will find that it is a father/son story set against the backdrop of crimes in Nigeria. But it is a legacy tale that talks about leaving behind something that you will be remembered for, which is about earning your place in the stars. The idea was to develop that into a film that will be internationally positioned.

    Could you recall some of the challenges you faced while working on the movie?

    The challenging moments were quite a few, but the most challenging was when we thought we had finished shooting the film and I went to the UK to have a meeting with the editor. The first part of the movie was shot on HD tapes and part of it was on a drive.

    I left the material with the editor, having discussed with him and what I wanted to achieve. I then came back to Nigeria. But about a week after, I got a call from the editor who said there was a problem with the material. He said all the films on the drive were good, but the films on the HD tapes were looking funny. He thought it was the deck he was using for it, so he had to go to a post-production house to check it out, but it was the same experience. The problem had to do with the camera we used to shoot. The lens was not sitting well on the plane, where it was supposed to be.  Besides, when you looked at it from the monitor, it seemed clear. But what was going into the tape was blurry.

    What was your first reaction?

    I quickly went back to the United Kingdom. This was 2010. I went there and saw the tape for myself. We were then faced with a major decision because this was over 50% of the film. The issue was: what do we do? Two things were possible. If you looked at the footage on normal TV, you would not see the fault. But if you looked at it on a big screen, it became evident.

    So, the issue was: should we release it straight to DVD and forget it or reshoot the footage that was faulty? The first one was not an option because there is no way we would release the movie on DVD and be able to recoup the money that we had spent on it up to that point in time. So, we had to come back again and reshoot those scenes. 50% of the film was shot twice. For me, that decision to reshoot was the most challenging decision that I had to make in the process of making this film.

    You once mentioned that it took you five years to make.  So, didn’t you find that daunting?

    It is always a daunting undertaking when you decide to do something that is out of the box.  The reason is you will go against all sorts of thinking and expectations and because you are doing something new, you require more in, terms of achieving it.

    But ab initio, it takes that long to make a good movie because the kind of money we required to make the film was not the kind of money that we had in one go. I knew we were going to have to raise the money, do some works and go back to raise more money. Incrementally, the film has been shot that way. But it takes long to do a proper film.

    At some point, did you feel jettisoning the idea?

    No. I knew from the outset that it was going to take that long, but that is not to say there were no points, where the challenges were really high.

    Did you get any form of backing from the government, especially as the movie has some elements of advocacy?

    At that time, the government wasn’t looking in the direction of the film industry the way it is doing now. We did get some form of corporate support in cash and in kind. We also had contributions as well, albeit very limited from the Nigerian Film Corporation, the Nigerian Film and Videos Censors Board and the Federal Ministry of Information. But the bulk of the support that we got basically came from the industry.

    Jungle Film Works had some arrangements, where all of the lighting and the grip equipment came from there. We also enjoyed a strong support from the Sound City Group. We also had other private investors who are friends of the house.

    How did you get a veteran like Lantana Ahmed to be a part of the production?

    I call her my aunt; she was my lecturer in the university and I have been keeping contact with her since then. I also believe that she is one of the finest actors to come out not just from the North but from Nigeria. I have always nursed the ambition to work with her on a project, so that was the opportunity and she was perfect for the role.

    How viable would you say the northern movie industry is?

    I think that there are some very creative people who are of Northern extraction working in the industry today. I also like to believe that there is a lot going on in Kannywood, which is the northern movie industry.  They have their own very unique distribution style and they are very prolific in the number of films they are making. In fact, I think that at the moment, Kannywood is thriving better than Nollywood, in terms of the number of projects that they are doing and the returns they get on their investments.

    But the industry looks boring to some…

    You must understand that they serve a specific audience and if what they are doing is working for that audience, then, it is working and is sustaining itself, which is what any business wants to do. You would also need to realise that there are people from the North who are also doing mainstream movies. Kenneth Gyang had a good run with Confusion Na Wa; Sanni Muazu has also been prominent and I know quite a number of people who are working.  So, I think that in the next two or three years, you will see an explosion of talents from the North doing mainstream movies.

    As one who travels a lot, how do you make out time for your family?

    I think the people who have suffered the most or have paid the highest price in pursuit of the things I do is my family, but I try to make it up in the time that I create to spend with them. My family is based in the United Kingdom; so, when I go, I shut down to be with them. If I go to the United Kingdom to spend time with my family, you can’t reach me on any number. I shut down and they know that I am home to be with them. I do that as often as I can. They have paid the highest price for the work I do.

    Is any of your kids toeing your footsteps? My first son is attending the Berkeley School of Music in the U.S. and he wants to study Film Composition. His immediate younger brother is not directly into films; he wants to do Media Studies, with specialisation in TV Production. The youngest is eight years old, so we don’t know where he is headed yet.

    What are your thoughts on the Nigerian movie industry?

    I think that the Nigerian movie industry is evolving. There are new and interesting projects that are coming up. The talent base is widening in the sense that we have a lot of young Nigerians who have gone to study films in different film schools and are back to contribute their quotas to the industry. We also have a huge population in the Diaspora coming back to the country.

    They are deepening the pool of talents and are influencing the new look and feel that the Nigerian movies are having. Even the Nollywood films themselves are beginning to have that new look; so, I see interesting times ahead for the Nigerian film industry, particularly given the convergence of platforms and the opportunities that are present.

  • Monalisa Chinda to launch TV show

    Monalisa Chinda to launch TV show

    After making a name for herself in the movie industry, top Nollywood actress and producer, Monalisa Chinda, is set to launch an indigenous TV talk show tagged You and I with Monalisa, six months after she quit her self-titled magazine, Monalisa.

    Produced to global standards, You and I with Monalisa, which is described as an unconventional, thrilling and exciting talk show, “is designed to address pressing and trending social issues in refreshing perspectives.”

    Though it is a not a familiar turf for the mother of one, she expressed hopes that the programme would touch lives and make positive impacts.

    The actress, who recently marked her 40th birthday, said:  “You & I with Monalisa remains a most cherished gift from God and one of my greatest contributions to this world. It is highly captivating, entertaining and enriching. This suspense-filled talk show is easily the solution to most of our societal challenges.”

    She further disclosed that You & I with Monalisa, which is planned to debut soon, is also targeted at upwardly mobile viewers across the broadcast and social media platforms, globally.

  • Grace’s top 10

    Grace’s top 10

    Nollywood actress, Grace Amah, for over a decade has been as constant as a “northern star” in Nollywood. Since she first appeared in the1999 Lancelot Imasuen-directed flick, Chain, she has been dazzling fans and remains very much in demand. She tells Adetutu Audu her favourite things.

    Favourite author

    Myles Munroe

     

    Favoutite jewellery

    I can do without one

     

    Favourite car

    I like them big. Mercedes G-wagon

     

    Favourite holiday spot

    Nigeria

     

    Favourite make-up kit

    Iman

     

    Favourite handbag designer

    Versace

     

    Favourite sunglasses

    Gucci

     

    Favourite wristwatch

    designer

    Rolex,

    Micheal Korr

     

    Favourite food

    Efo riro and rice

     

    Favourite fashion designer

    Channel

  • My biggest regret, says Ronke Oshodi Oke

    My biggest regret, says Ronke Oshodi Oke

    IT was a most unexpected revelation recently when top Nollywood actress, Ronke Ojo-Gbolahan, aka Oshodi-Oke, lamented her inability to acquire a higher education.

    While it seems that the actress has everything going for her, she said, in an interview with Encomium Magazine, that “My biggest regret is not going back to school, as I had wanted to. I have been planning to return to school for quite a long time, but when you are making money and seeing yourself being celebrated everywhere, you will feel on top of the world. But you are nothing without completing your education.

    So, that’s the bold step I want to take now. So, it’s going to be fun. I don’t want to agree it is going to be difficult. I really want to go back to school and I mean it this time around.”

  • Rethinking Nollywood in the Nigerian project

    Rethinking Nollywood in the Nigerian project

    There is no doubt that today, Nollywood has become a national brand. It has become the foremost signifier of our cinematic energy as a creative people. Nollywood began small, but today it has become a huge contributor to the national economy. In the recent GDP rebasing exercise, Nollywood contributed 1.2% to the national economy.

    If that appears little, then you have no knowledge of where and how Nollywood began. Its beginning is founded on a shoestring budget and a creative ingenuity of a few entrepreneurs who had to face commercial risk and cinematic scorn to achieve their objectives. If you want an exact date for the beginning of Nollywood, scholars point at Kenneth Nnebue’s 1992 movie, Living in Bondage. Today, Nollywood has achieved global reckoning by its sheer capacity to proliferate beyond all its economic, political and social limitations. Nollywood is second only to Hollywood in global entertainment ranking; Bollywood, the Indian film industry, has since been displaced to third place.

    On another significant level, Nollywood can rightly be considered as the sole heir of the tradition of African cinema pioneered by the likes of Ousmane Sembene, Souleymane Cisse, Haile Gerima, and others. In spite of being founded on the format of the home video, Nollywood has captured the imagination of Africa in its attempt at a cinematic representation of African, and Nigerian, cultural themes, values, conflicts and challenges. It is therefore possible for some to think that Nollywood cinematically represents Nigeria and its cultural and historical complexities. It shouldn’t even be far-fetched to consider Nollywood as Nigeria’s national cinema, especially with its many attempts at exhibiting issues that speak to our collective predicament as a people.

    In spite of these adulations, there are so much that are still wrong with this film industry. And my point of interrogation is its capacity to not only adequately reflect and recreate, but also to challenge the national project in Nigeria. Nigeria is a plural society, divided along religious, linguistic, cultural and ethnic lines. This is the first fact that precipitates the need for national integration of all the diverse groups and nationalities forcefully amalgamated into the Nigerian state. Nollywood therefore already has its work cut out for it: it is to cinematically map the terrain of failures, successes, and possibilities of this Project in a manner that challenges all of us, government and the governed, to pause and rethink our collective existence as Nigerians. It isn’t enough to cinematically re-present what is wrong with us, and to do it badly. We don’t need a national cinema that is merely exhibitionist.

    ‘Movies for me,’ says Steven Spielberg, ‘are a heightened reality.’ This is critical: the cinema acts as a mirror which is deployed to re-examine our collective experience. And the more traumatic the experience, the more disturbing the movies should be. The cinema therefore ought to be able to tell the Nigerian and non-Nigerian audiences something; it should, for instance, reveal to them how the Nigerian project is faring. These audiences are not just to be entertained; rather, the experience of visiting the Nollywood cinema or watching the movie should add to their perception of what is going on, what is working, what isn’t working, what needed to be done, and so on. My worry, however, is whether Nollywood, as presently constituted, will be able to do this adequately. Nollywood hardly speaks to us the way it is right now. The statistics may be favourable; the cinematic experience is however what counts in the final analysis. And in nine cases out of ten, the rush to produce a movie almost always kills the creative genius.

    A normal Nollywood movie is predictable and boring; you sit for hours through mostly ordinary depictions of city and rural life that you are already familiar with. You are also treated to a rehash of historical moments not properly researched. When the movie finally ends, you get up and you are not the wiser for it. You sure would find many actors to praise for sterling performances, and on top of my head are actors like Pete Edochie, Olu and Joke Jacobs, Gabriel Afolayan, Genevieve Nnaji, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Ramsey Nouah, Funke Akindele, Odunlade Adekola, to name just a very few. You even get to laugh too watching movies like Osuofia in London and Jenifa. But then, it isn’t just the stars that make for compelling movies that speak to our collective conditions as Nigerians. There should be more that Nollywood can do beyond its stars, and comedy and bland storylines. I am talking about aesthetic sophistication, technical quality and convincing plot and storyline with historical and philosophical weight.

    It is in this sense that I find the newest volume on Nollywood a commendable and compelling redirection for rethinking and rescuing the Nollywood phenomenon. Auteuring Nollywood (edited by Dr. Adeshina Afolayan, of the Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan) is a work that captures the several worries of Nigerian about the Nollywood phenomenon, and the question of whether or not it has the capacity to do more in terms of contributing to the transformation of Nigeria and our assessment of who we are and what we can hope to be. To achieve this critical contribution, Nollywood must first transform itself through several internal adjustments and rehabilitations. It doesn’t matter if Nollywood drops behind Hollywood and Bollywood in term of the quantity of films it injects into the market; that would seem a fair price to pay for the need to produce qualitative films that matters. The various contributors to Auteuring Nollywood were united in their recognition of the urgency of a revolution of the aesthetic and technical forms of the movies in terms of good storyline, coherent plots and reasonable casting. The book particularly asked for an auteur; a director that stands at the forefront of the cinematic revolution with a vision.

    I am particularly thrilled by the assessment of one of the contributors as to the possibility of Nollywood assuming its role as a national cinema. This comes with a lot of responsibility. Most importantly, such a national cinema must learn to tell the Nigerian story with all its challenges, possibilities and failures. That trajectory of telling our story has already been championed by the prolific Tunde Kelani who not only interrogates the Yoruba cultural heritage, but also projects the twists and turns of the Nigerian projects. Many people will not forget Saworoide and Agogo Eewo, two critical movies that constitute a parable on our nation-building efforts. When such efforts are complemented by other films like The Figurine and October 1 (Kunle Afolayan), Half of a Yellow Sun (directed by Biyi Bandele, and adapted from a Chimamanda Adichie’s novel of the same title), and many others, we can begin to motivate Nollywood towards a cinematic dynamics that could carry the burden of cultural and national trauma and possibilities.

    The evolution of Nollywood as an industry benefitted from the Nigerian socio-economic situation. Nollywood came into existence in the throes of the economic troubles confronting most African countries in the 80s. It therefore owes a moral debt to respond critically and creatively to the situation that brought it to life. Nollywood stands at a critical juncture in Nigeria’s current effort at undermining and transcending its national predicament. What we need are no longer several cameras wrongly placed for commercial purposes. Rather, what ought to proliferate are visionary auteurs who can challenge us at every turn in our national existence. The Nollywood director is no less a patriot than the political leadership in the country; s/he has a responsibility to project our collective experiences in a manner that antagonises and disturbs and forces us to think about the past, the present and the future. The Nollywood of the future is a cinematic industry that would begin to take Nigeria seriously. Thus, for the Nigerian Nollywood director, there is only one commandment: imaginatively recreate Nigeria!

  • Bridget John joins Okoku’s GTCF

    Bridget John joins Okoku’s GTCF

    AMERICA-BASED Nollywood actress, Bridget John, has joined the train of the Greater Tomorrow Children Foundation (GTCF), a charity-based organisation, whose primary aim is to help the less-privileged children in the Nigerian society and in the USA.

    Founded by ex-international Paul Okoku, the GTCF was officially launched in April in Abuja, with a firm resolve to help correct the imbalances in the society through the provision of life-saving facilities and tools.

    Bridget John, the producer and lead actor in Adora, said it was an honour for her to help promote a project that seeks the well-being of underprivileged children and the deprived, adding that she would do everything within her means to draw attention to the plight of the downtrodden in the society.

    “I find it quite interesting and a thing of honour to be an ambassador of the Greater Tomorrow Children Foundation and I hereby pledge my support to help project the ideals of the foundation, so that we can be able to impact the lives of our children.

    “There is so much we can do for the society by just giving a little of our support and partnership. It will go a long way to help rebuilding the lives of those who have nothing to live on,” she added.

  • Partner Nollywood, insurers urged

    For Nigerians to imbibe insurance culture, operators need to partner the entertainment industry called Nollywood, an expert, Nnamdi Duru has said.

    He said the partnership could drive the desired insurance culture and deepen insurance penetration in the country.

    He gave this advice while speaking on “The media and the promotion of insurance culture in Nigeria” at the just-concluded insurance industry Joint Media Retreat for Journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    He said the media, broadly classified into print and electronic, could be further classified into books, magazines, newspapers, recording, radio, television, online, social media as well as the new and emerging information and communication platforms.

    The music and entertainment industry in Nigeria falls into recording, television and radio conveniently, he said.

    He said while the traditional media including print, television and radio have been able to boost insurance awareness, there is need for the industry to also engage other media to drive the desired change in culture in favour of insurance.

    He noted that members of Nollywood have the greatest followership in the country today, saying they could be mobilised to work for the industry.

    He said: “The insurance industry should partner Nollywood to drive the desired insurance culture in Nigeria. Entertainers have great number of fans among Nigerian children, youths, middle class and the elite. These are the target groups for the insurance industry.’’

     

     

  • Partner Nollywood, insurers urged

    Partner Nollywood, insurers urged

    For Nigerians to imbibe insurance culture, operators need to partner the entertainment industry called Nollywood, an expert, Nnamdi Duru has said.

    He said this partnership could drive the desired insurance culture and deepen insurance penetration in the country.

    He gave this advice while speaking on “The media and the promotion of insurance culture in Nigeria” at the just-concluded insurance industry Joint Media Retreat for Journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    He said the media, broadly classified into print and electronic, could be further classified into books, magazines, newspapers, recording, radio, television, online, social media as well as the new and emerging information and communication platforms.

    The music and entertainment industry in Nigeria falls into recording, television and radio conveniently, he said.

    He said while the traditional media including print, television and radio have been able to boost insurance awareness, there is need for the industry to also engage other media to drive the desired change in culture in favour of insurance.

    He noted that members of Nollywood have the greatest followership in the country today, saying they could be mobilised to work for the industry.

    He said: “The insurance industry should partner Nollywood to drive the desired insurance culture in Nigeria. Entertainers have great number of fans among Nigerian children, youths, middle class and the elite. These are the target groups for the insurance industry.’’