The Nation Newspaper

Tag: queen

  • Radiance of the queen 

    Radiance of the queen 

    •Emergence of Asisat Oshoala as BBC’s first global preeminent female player is good omen for a renascent Nigeria         

    In truth she had been nothing but spectacular, the way she burst on the Nigerian and global football audience in 2014. That year, Asisat Oshoala won everything there was to win in female football, both in Africa and at the global stage.

    At the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada, Asisat won both the highest scorer and best championship player, officially tagged the Most Valuable Player (MVP). The only diadem she lost was the championship itself, in which Nigeria lost to Germany in the final.

    Fresh from that, she moved seamlessly into the full female national side, and won, with Nigeria, the Africa Women Championship in Namibia. Not only that: she also emerged the MVP.

    Come the Confederation of African Football (CAF) yearly awards for 2014, on January 8, Asisat also emerged both the African Women’s football player of the year, after earlier being named the best young female player on the continent.

    Later, she would move to Liverpool Ladies FC in England, from her Nigerian club, Rivers Angels FC. She also wasted no time to settle down, making herself a vital member of that team; and scoring crucial goals en route to doing that. Right now, “Queen Asisat” is with the Nigeria Super Falcons, preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, holding in Canada from June 6 to July 5.

    So, her final shortlist for the BBC inaugural award, with four others, was not exactly a surprise. The final five were Veronica Boquette (Spain and FFC Frankfurt), Nadine Kessler (Germany and VFL Wolfsburg), Kim Little (Scotland and Seattle Reign FC), Marta (Brazil and FC Rosengard) and Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria and Liverpool Ladies).

    But the result must have surprised many — not because Asisat lacked the technical ability and athletic discipline, but because she would appear quite some green horn, in comparison with the strong field.

    The Brazilian Marta, for instance, had won the FIFA Women’s Footballer of the Year five consecutive times between 2006 and 2010. The other three are also more established names; in any case, playing in bigger and better organised leagues, across Europe and America.  Besides, Asisat, at 20, was the youngest in the pack. Yet she landed the diadem: Asisat Oshoala, the first ever BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year!

    Her win is again a reiteration of one thing: Nigeria is a storehouse of talents in almost every sphere of human life. With discipline and devotion, that raw gold can easily emerge as a global reference point in sheer glitter. In this age of national doubt and near-collapse, Asisat’s feat is indeed a good sign.

    Believers in perceptive symbolism, if not outright metaphysics, could even push the argument further: her emergence, from virtual nowhere comparatively, is good omen that Nigeria may well be rousing in the right directions.

    If Akinwunmi Adeshina’s election as the new president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is added to the mix, it is refreshing that for once, good news, not torrid tales, are emanating from this country. Add that to the emergence of a new Muhammadu Buhari government, on which Nigerians, the rest of Africa and indeed the whole of the world pin new hopes, it is no doubt a loving symbol of better days ahead.

    Still, beyond the grandiose and the symbolic, the lesson from Asisat’s feat is simple: talent is never enough, except when well honed. That is the magic of Asisat’s success. If Nigeria deliberately and consistently hones her surplus natural talents, she would be a world beater in no time.

    But back to the young woman: it is morning yet on honour’s day. That is why she should work even harder to improve on her rising profile. It is therefore the patriotic duty of her coaches to manage her such that she is not exposed to crippling pressure. That is the surest way she can achieve her full potential.

    ‘Still, beyond the grandiose and the symbolic, the lesson from Asisat’s feat is simple: talent is never enough, except when well honed. That is the magic of Asisat’s success. If Nigeria deliberately and consistently hones her surplus natural talents, she would be a world beater in no time’

    Congratulations, Queen Asisat!  Congratulations, Nigeria.

  • Royal Mint unveils new coinage portrait of the Queen

    The Royal Mint has unveiled a new coinage portrait of the Queen.

    It shows a side profile of the 88-year-old monarch wearing a crown and drop earrings.

    It is only the fifth definitive coin portrait to have been created during her 63-year reign.

    Coins featuring the new image will go into production from Monday but will only appear in circulation later this year.

    The portrait was designed by engraver Jody Clark, whose design was selected in a competition organised by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, a consultative panel to HM Treasury.

    The four official portraits of the Queen that have appeared on coins in the UK during the Queen’s reign. Four official portraits of the Queen have already appeared on coins in 1953, 1968, 1985 and 1998

    Jody Clark with new coin Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark said he hoped the design was a “fitting representation”

    The winning image by Jody Clark The Queen had final approval of the winning image.

    Mr Clark, 34, said: “I hope that I’ve done Her Majesty justice and captured her as I intended, in a fitting representation.

    “The news that my design had been chosen was quite overwhelming, and I still can’t quite believe that my royal portrait will be featured on millions of coins.”

    Adam Lawrence, chief executive, Royal Mint, said the change of royal portrait made 2015 a “vintage year” for UK coins.

    He added: “Capturing a portrait on the surface of a coin demands the utmost skill, and is one of the most challenging disciplines of the coin designer’s art.”

  • Grassroots’ Heroes gets new queen

    Grassroots’ Heroes gets new queen

    After months of searching for culture advocates, winners have emerged in the culture-based reality show, tagged: Heroes: Back To The Roots.

    At the end of 60 days of co-habitation among other activities, Ms Happiness Udodang from Akwa Ibom State, has emerged queen and winner out of the 37 culture gladiators that the show began with.

    The 37 contestants, according to the organisers, were picked after 104-day of painstakingly traversing many states, adding that Ms Udodang won due to her in-depth understanding of her culture.

    Ms Udodang said she was more than happy she won, adding that emerging winner was more than a dream-come-true. According to her, in addition to having her dream of becoming a movie star, she went home with a car, N2million and a role in a film that will be shot with 10 finalists of the show.

    But Ms Udodang was not alone. Like her, the second and third place finalists – Luther Emmanuel Ikyobo from Benue State and Chelsea Chinenye Oguejiofor from Anambra State – each got N1.5million and N1million alongside roles in the film.

    The show, which was aired on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), is produced by Chinyere Ogbukagu, who also heads Plateau-based Havilla Timeless Production; and directed by famed filmmaker Ifeanyi Onyeabor.

    According to Ogbukagu, the folk reality TV show aims at promoting peace and inter-ethnic understanding, adding that it also highlight the various tourism potential abundant across the country.

    She said: “Apart from re-awakening the interest in our culture the show also highlights the various tourism potential abundant in the various states where the cast and crew of the show are visiting. After auditions, five persons were selected from each of the states and FCT for the final screening to arrive at the 37 finalists – one from each state and FCT- to compete in the house where they would co-habit for 60 days. Contestants who have great understanding of their culture are usually on an advantageous pedestal to emerge victorious.”

    The 2014 edition of the TV show also culminated in an award’s event to recognise individuals and institutions that have contributed in no small measure to a better understanding of our cultural legacies in Nigeria, with great emphasis on cultural tolerance.

    Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu  was honoured as the “Best Supporting Governor”; Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio as” Best Governor”; Cross River State got the “Cleanest State” award and Niger State was “Most Culture-Friendly State”

    “We award is our appreciation of their support. We also got support from other individuals and organisations and governments for this project to come to fruition. We especially thankful to Niger State for being a great host, IMO state for seeing the vision.

     

     

  • Beauty queen fights crime

    Beauty queen fights crime

    Twenty-three-year-old Jennifer Nkiruka Okorie may have won the crown, but there is a lot on her mind beyond her looks.

    She was graceful in her flowing red attire, beaming with a disarming smile.

    Jennifer was also conscious of the fact that people raised their cameras and their phones to take her picture as she strutted by.

    But it may all have meant pretty little to her. Her crown, she said later, was to enable her  fight crime and help save young people from self-destruction and threatening the rest of society.

    Miss Okorie, a final year student of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) from Ohaozara, Ebonyi State, was crowned Miss Goodluck Nigeria, Southeast,  at the East-End Hotels and Suites in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

    Before her in the hall were thousands of people, including another beauty queen, Miss Global Tourism, Amaka Okafor, who came in  from Enugu.

    The crown had hardly been lowered on her head when she launched her project which is focused on curbing violence, thuggish behaviour and youth restiveness.

    The beauty pageant was sponsored by Goodnews Organisation. The predominat colours of the night were green, white and red.

    Presenting her address, the beauty queen said that her entry into the contest was borne out of her desire to establish a platform through which she could contribute to making the world a better place to live.

    She said, “Since it has pleased God to answer my prayers by helping me to emerge as the winner of this contest, it then behoves on me to swing into action by bettering the lot of fellow youths.”

    Why choose to be beauty queen? The Nation probed after the event around 3am.

    Miss Okorie said, “I have felt disturbed by the level of restiveness that had characterised our national life especially as it affects the youths in the society.

    “These people are supposed to be tomorrow’s leaders; the rate at which young people engage in thuggish acts and all forms of violence nowadays is very alarming and one feels that something serious must be done to, at least to reduce it.

    “Furthermore, my agenda is to give due attention to numerous children who, not by their own making but by circumstances of life, are confined in orphanages and destitute homes.

    “My plan is to carry out massive campaigns through out the South East of Nigeria, reaching out to the youths to pass the message across for peaceful and responsible living.”

    The beauty queen also said that she would organise seminars, symposia, distribute hand bills and mount bill boards in various strategic positions in the zone to drive home her point.

    “This I hope to achieve by mobilising both materials and cash for the upkeep of the inmates of orphanages and destitute homes across the Southeast of Nigeria.”

    “It is a fact that this set of human beings need our assistance and we cannot fail to make them feel loved, and I know  that this project is going to cost me a lot but God willing, we shall conquer,” she  said.

    She did not end there. Miss Okorie told The Nation that the media would be fully involved in whatever she was going to do to actualise her project, adding that such persons needed love and care in the society.

    The all night event attracted individuals and government functionaries including Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Special Assitant on Security Matters, Chikodi Anarah who promised to contribute his own quota to the realisation of the queen’s projects.

    Politicians also tried to outdo one another in a bid to be recognised in the overwhelming crowd.

    One of them, a chieftain of one of the top parties in the state, told The Nation that any politician who missed out on such an event was planning his or her own funeral politically in the state.

    “We are here to give this beauty queen our support and solidarity,” she said.

    “Yes, she is young but the project she wants to execute has attracted all and sundry and we will not allow her to be alone.”

    Miss Okorie will need such politicians to fulfill their promises.

  • Enter the ‘Queen of Education’

    Enter the ‘Queen of Education’

    Nigerian Universities Education Students Association (NUESA), Delta State University (DELSU) chapter, has organised a beauty pageant to crown the ‘Queen of Education’. ESE OKODUWA (300-Level Home Economics Education) reports.

    In measured steps, they walked on the raised end of the hall, smiling and waving to the excited crowd. Their choreographed movement attracted a thunderous applause from the cheering observers. In a similar manner, they returned to the room from where they emerged. Then, the event kicked off.

    This was the atmosphere at the 750-capacity lecture theatre, where a beauty pageant organised by the Faculty of Education of the Delta State University (DELSU) in Abraka was held.

    The pageant was preceded by inter-departmental football contest, where the Department of Science Education defeated  Department of Nursery and Primary Education in a 3-2 win.

    During the lecture held to mark the event, Dr Samuel Campbell, an officer at the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), urged students to reject the temptation to use hard drugs, warning that abuse of drugs could cause lifetime damage to the body.

    A debate was also held, where students of all the departments spoke on the topic: Why is your department the best in the faculty? The debaters reeled out points to outshine one another in convincing the listeners on why their department is special in the faculty.

    Franklin Izose, a 100-Level student of Vocational Education (Home Economics unit), said: “The best department is Home Economics, because its students feed their colleagues from other departments. Stomachs can never get satiated of food; food is essential for the sustenance of life. Without food, no students will be in school to study.”

    Dismissing Franklin’s position, Benjamin Onaho, a 100-Level Science Education student, said science made it possible for Home Economists to know the proper ingredients for food. Without scientific research, he said, many human activities would not have been possible.

    Prof C.N. Okeoji, Staff Adviser to the Nigerian Universities Education Students Association (NUESA), declared the beauty pageant open. She praised the association’s leaders for improving the social life in the faculty.

    Intelligence, cultural knowledge and sense of fashion of the contestants were tested during the preliminary stage. Some of them could not stand the test, dropping out of the contest. In the final stage, the contestants appeared in flowing designer gowns. Their intellect was put to test; each was required to answer intelligent questions.

    In the end, Benita Ifeghoe, a 100-Level Computer Science Education student, beat nine other contestants to emerge the Queen of NUESA. Esther Kissa, a 100-Level Nursery and Primary Education emerged the first runner up.

    Crowning the new queen, the outgoing queen, Miss Stella Aiwerioghene, a 400-Level Chemistry Education student, hailed the contestants for their courage, saying in every competition, there could always be only one winner. “But all of you are winners because of your time and energy you sacrificed to make the event worthwhile,” she said.

    Benita, who got excited by the feat, said her joy knew no bounds when she was announced the winner, noting that she had always wanted to be a beauty queen.

    President of NUESA, Julius Asuai, a 400-Level Economics Education, said: “This event began like an unachievable dream and vision; today, it is a reality because of the cooperation of executive members and students. I am grateful to God and all of you.”

    Highlight of the event included award of certificate to members of the NUASA executive.

  • Turunku: Queen Amina’s forgotten hometown

    Turunku: Queen Amina’s forgotten hometown

    Of all the neglected sites in Kaduna State, Queen Amina’s hometown, Turunku, is probably the most painful. Centuries after her reign and exploits, the warrior queen continues to stir the mind. Primary school pupils study her as much as researchers probe into her intriguing war past. Today, the queen who mastered the art of warfare on horse back, humbling one community after another, is regarded as one of Africa’s greatest women.

    Shouldn’t her birthplace, Turunku, therefore be a money spinner, an irresistible destination for tourists? But successive governments in the state have routinely looked away from the town, leaving it an ungainly settlement.

    The neglect of Turunku is almost as legendary as its illustrious heroine. First, she was always called Queen Amina of Zaria though she never really lived in the town, which was named after her younger sister. Also, many do not know that the Zazzau emirate did not originally start from its present location, but at Turunku in present-day Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    What does all that fetch Turunku and its residents? It seems pretty little. The town which would have been generating huge revenues for the state government has been abandoned. The only sign of government’s presence there is the fence round the tomb of Queen Amina’s father. Worse, the fact that the famous warrior queen and her people ever reigned in Turunku may never be known to future generations, due to lack of efforts to protect and promote the site.

    When The Nation visited the tomb of Queen Amina’s father in Turunku, it was covered with weed, even though it was fenced by the government. It was clear that few visitors or tourists will be attracted to the place. Also, the tie and dye wells (known as ‘Rijiyan Rini’ in Hausa) which were used by Queen Amina and her people were also covered by grass, while farmers have taken over the entire area leaving little space by the Turunku-Farakwai roadside. There is nothing to indicate that such a warrior ever passed through the place, let alone reign there.

    When The Nation visited, it was discovered that the villagers had made their own arrangement to conduct would be visitors round the remaining sites, which included the mountain where Queen Amina is said to have lived.

    It was also discovered that there is no designated route to the top of the mountain, but the tour guide attached to this reporter disclosed that there was an easy route to the top. It was an interesting, but scary expedition. At the base of the rocky mountain was the game board used by Queen Amina and her people  to relax. There is also a big, flat rock with several holes, which they used to play the game known today as ‘ayo’.

    Also close to it is what is known as ‘Zakzak’, where Bakwa, Amina’s father from whom she learnt the art of warfare is believed to have buried his sword. It is believed that Bakwa never went beyond this point whenever he saw his visitors off.

    There is also the ‘Dutsen Hiya’ and ‘Dutsen Boyewa. While Dutsen Hiya is said to be the place where she prayed for victory before she went to battle, Dutsen Boyewa is a covering for an underground tunnel where they hid their children during war.

    While these sites still exist, there is no effort to protect them from extinction.

    At the top of the mountain is the rock bed used by Queen Amina and her bodyguards.

    However, while it was noticed that the rock bed was much wider than beds used in those days, the tour guide, Abubakar, told The Nation that people of Queen Amina’s generation were 10 times bigger than their modern counterparts.

    She was the chief protector of her community and this is evident by the placement of her stool located at the northern entrance to her community regarded as Kofar Arewa and another located in the southern entrance to the community known as Kofar Kudu. From these seats, she could see an enemy coming several kilometres away. A big grinding stone said to have been used by the community also sits on top of the mountain. There is also a well to provide water and a poison mortar used to prepare poison for their arrows when preparing for war.

    One interesting discovery was a big hole said to be snake hole in the rock where a big snake is said to have lived for over 100 years. Even though the snake could not be seen, a strange odour which was said to be its breath welcomes visitors to the place. Abubakar told The Nation that the snake usually came out every Sunday and that it stopped coming out since a visiting journalist took its photograph some years back.

    The mention of the giant snake sent jitters down the spine of this reporter and the tour was brought to an abrupt end, but that was not before Abubakar disclosed that there was nothing else to be seen.

    After about three hours journey to and from the seat of Queen Amina, the traditional ruler of Turunku, Alhaji Ahmed Abdullahi told The Nation that if the government had taken serious interest in the sites, climbing the mountains would have been made easier.

    He described Queen Amina as a very successful warrior, saying she always took her war booty to her sister’s settlement in Zaria. He added that over a period of time, her many conquests and subsequent annexation of territories extended beyond the borders of Zaria.

    One of the tour guides who gave his name simply as Ahmed told The Nation that Queen Amina was never married and had no children of her own. He noted that instead of having a husband of her own, the brave Amina always took a temporary mate from the legions of vanquished foes after every battle, spent one night with the man and executed him the following morning to prevent him from ever speaking about his sexual encounter with her.

    Ahmed, a young school leaver who said his ambition is to document the history of Turunku, also said that the legendary “Amina committed suicide during a military campaign at Dekina in the present Kogi State and was buried in Idah”.

    According to him, Queen Amina who had a successful military exploit in Dekina took a temporary husband in the place and could not kill the man after their sexual encounter. He stressed that “a soothsayer had predicted Queen Amina’s coming to Dekina and told their ruler to bury his young daughter and a young man alive to prevent their land from being conquered by the female warrior. And that was what led to her failure to kill the man who spent a night with the warrior queen. The man, it is said, sneaked out in the middle of the night. Worried by that development, Queen Amina refused to return home. She jumped into the river and died at Dekina and was later buried at Idah.”

    Life and times of the warrior Queen

     The Nation’s findings revealed that Queen Amina took after her father as a warrior and leader of her people. Her father, known to the people simply as Bakwa was the 18th ruler of Turunku and their family wealth was derived mainly from trading in leather goods, cloth, kola, salt, horses and imported metals. It was also learnt that Amina’s younger sister, Amamatu who was also known as Zaria left Turunku because of water scarcity and settled in the present-day Zaria, a place that was later named after her.

    Amina who was said to have been born in 1533. In 1576 she became the  ruler of Zazzau.

  • Maths queen wins N.5m from bank

    Maths queen wins N.5m from bank

    This summer, 10-year old Temilade Ogunsanwo will be spending her holidays outside the country.  It is a gift from her parents for winning the Sterling Bank Mathematics Competition organised for primary school pupils in Lagos and beyond.

    The gesture, they said, has nothing to do with the N500,000 she got from the bank for winning the competition.

    Temilade, a Grade 6 pupil of Tomobid School, Agidingbi in Ikeja, was one of the seven pupils that scored 49 out of 50 marks in the multiple choice examination written by over 1,000 pupils recently. (None among the top 50 scored less than 47).

    When seven of them, later took a second examination, which was in theory, to determine the best three pupils, Temilade scored 96 per cent.

    She was followed by Esther Opemiposi Ojo of Olumowayo Nursery/Primary School who scored 84 per cent, while Ebiakpo Abeokuta scored 81 per cent.

    Their performance impressed the organisers of the examination, Sterling Bank, who praised the pupils for their brilliance.

    At a prize giving ceremony held at Caleb International College, Magodo, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, Executive Director (Finance and Strategy), said the response to the competition has encouraged the bank to make it an annual one.

    “This competition was the initiative of Caleb but as their banker, we immediately decided to support it fully.  We intend to take it to the national stage and make it an annual event.

    “We ended up with more than 1,000 entries from various parts of the country.  The first seven call 49/50.  There was a second round of testing and the performance was still very high,” he said.

    The top 51 pupils in the competition were rewarded with N50,000 each, while the top seven were specially recognised and presented with special prizes at the event.

    Second placed Esther got a cheque of N300,000, while Ebiakpo got N200,000.

    Esther’s teacher, Ayemomisan Olusola, was happy about the credibility of the competition, which he said placed all participants on equal pedestal to compete.  He was glad that his school, located in the suburbs, could perform so well.

    “The competition has been wonderful.  I feel elated that she did so well.  Our products are groomed to be the best,” he said.

    Temilade’s father, Mr Wale Ogunsanwo, a Deputy Registrar at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), said he was not surprised she won.

    “She has a track record of coming first,” he said.

  • All hail the beauty king, queen

    All hail the beauty king, queen

    Onyinyechi Ebenyi and Moses Imeh have won the University of Calabar (UNICAL) beauty pageant organised by the Students’ Union Government (SUG). STANLEY UCHEGBU (Graduating student of Accounting) reports. 

    She walked with measured steps, smiling and waving to the excited crowd. She gathered her light blue flowing attire to ease her movement. As she sat on the ‘throne’, a gold-rimmed crown was placed on her head to announce her ascension.

    Onyinyechi Ebenyi, a 200-Level Medical Laboratory Science student, is the new queen of the University of Calabar (UNICAL). To her left was the king, Moses Imeh, a 200-Level Pure Physics student. The excited crowd applauded the Mr and Miss UNICAL as they were unveiled at a show organised, last weekend, by the Director of Socials of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Williams Usese.

    Usese said the event, with the theme: Sustaining moral sanity in Nigerian youths, was to showcase intelligence and beauty of students.

    It was a night of glamour and entertainment as thousands of students and their colleagues from the Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) trooped into the Main Bowl of the UNICAL Cultural Centre for the variety night show.

    The SUG executive members were led to the show by the president, Bassey Eka, and his deputy, Mercy Mbakwe. Promise Owai, the Speaker of the union parliament, led members to the event.

    Campus comedians, including Robby Ekpo and Josiah Eghrudje, dished out hilarious jokes. Hip-hop artistes and acrobatic dancers dazzled with various stunts as music blared from the speakers of DJ Vicky Jay.

    Fashion designers had a field day, showcasing beautifully-sewn attires at the show.

    The pageant was sponsored by Spark Shopz, Multi Choice and Nigeria Breweries.

    The contest was in three stages; with 30 contestants participating in the male and female categories. In the first stage, contestants appeared in cultural apparels and took to the runway with synchronised steps, displaying their culture. The audience applauded their performance.

    Their skill was tested in dances, television presentation, drama and singing in the second stage. The judges shortlisted 10 contestants in each category.

    At the final stage, female contestants appeared in sleeveless designer gowns; their male counterparts were in corporate wears. They were asked to pick questions from a group of questions to test their intelligence.

    Having answered all questions correctly, Moses and Onyinyechi beat other contestants to clinch the Mr and Miss UNICAL titles. The judges, among whom were former Mr and Miss UNICAL, Iferi Young and Sophia Dijeh, praised the contestants for their intellect and talents.

    Prizes were presented to the winners by the union president, his deputy and representatives of the sponsors.

    Bassey hailed the students for turning out en masse for the show, praising them for showing maturity by being peaceful. He urged the winners to use their crowns to bring development to the campus and boost students’ morale.

    Mary Agnes, a member of the Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists, was delighted by the show’s success, saying: “The show was exceptional; the exhibition and performances by artistes, especially the acrobatic dancers, were mind-blowing. It was quite a wonderful event.”

    Giving the vote of thanks, Williams said: “This event started as a dream and vision; but today, that dream has become a reality and I am grateful to God for its success.”

  • Radiance of the QUEEN

    Radiance of the QUEEN

    Wife of Taraba  monarch savours  return of peace  to crisis-torn  community

    THE Queen of Mambilla, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, Her Royal Majesty, Patience Shehu Audu Baju, is not only a beautiful wife, she is a peacemaker. She wants her people to love and be loved, make peace and co-habit in harmony.

    “We need peace, and it can only be achieved if we live harmoniously with one another. With peace we can move forward and develop,” she said.

    Mrs. Baju’s peace message came as the Mambilla people of Bang savoured a colourful ceremony. The cultural festival, its 17th edition, was held in Bang Fim, the coldest place in Nigeria.

    The festival has been an annual event when the people of Bang would showcase their cultural heritage and launch the almanac of the Bang Cultural Development Association (BCDA).

    The queen, who contributed to the almanac launch, urged the BCDA to preserve the cultural heritage, saying it is their identity and way of life that reunites them.

    Her husband, Dr. Shehu Baju II, was coronated with a staff of office at a colourful ceremony on August 24, last year, by the Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar.

    Baju mounted the saddle following the demise of Alhaji Muhammadu Mansur 11 years ago during which peace eluded the people of Mambilla and they continually fought and killed one another, losing pricy properties in the process that also hampered development in the area.

    A treaty was, however, brokered by Governor Danbaba Suntai, who also upgraded the stool’s sovereignty to first-class status. That was before the governor was involved in a plane crash in October 2012.

    With Shehu on the throne, the old wounds are now healed. Peace has returned in the land and the once warring people are now greeting one another with hearty cheers.

    Mambilla is made up of Fulani, Mambilla, Kaka, Panso and Kambu ethnic groups. The new king, who is more of a servant-ruler, is a Mambilla.

    Queen Patience Shehu Audu Baju says she wants the ethnic groups to sustain the peace currently being enjoyed, without evoking the unhappy past.

  • ‘Why I’m called queen of Nigerian soaps’

    ‘Why I’m called queen of Nigerian soaps’

    She has been on screen for more than a decade. Known as the queen of soaps due to her regular face on TV series and sitcoms, the mother of one who has been able to set a high standard for herself in the industry as one of the scandal-free actresses in this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUKUNMI talks about her career, life and what has kept her going in the industry.

    AS a career woman, how do you balance your work and your home?

    My dear, you have to create the time. Your personal life and career, you just have to find the time, because time cannot create itself.

    As a mother who is always on the move, how do you relate with your child?

    I don’t have a baby I am nursing. So my son is old enough to take care of himself. He is a big boy, so I don’t have an underage that I have to always be there to care for.

    But before he got to the age he is now, how have you been managing?

    When he was a baby, I had not started acting. I was still in secondary school. So you can imagine how many years ago.

    Celebrities complain of fans abusing the social network, but you are always there relating with you fans. Doesn’t that apply to you too?

    No I have never had any issue on that. You see respect is reciprocal. If you respect your fans, they will respect you back. But if you treat them like thrash, they will throw it back at you. So I respect my fans, because without them, there is no Vivian Anani. Without them, I am nobody. Why am I there? Is it not for them? So why won’t I give them good attention and maintain a good relationship with my fans? I shouldn’t be too busy not to give them attention. And sometimes we are too busy than God Himself. You have time to post a picture there and people take their them to go there to put up a write up for you and you don’t go back to say thank you. Sometimes I play around facebook, visit the other pages of my colleagues and I see that people have written things for them over a year and you didn’t even see it necessary to check it and say I appreciate. Come on, let’s call a spade, a spade.

    Being married to a Yoruba man, do you speak the language well and have you considered featuring in a Yoruba movie?

    My marital status has been a quiet side of me. And that is why nobody even knows the person in question. And that is because it is not everything that you throw to the public. Some things should be left private. But I am yet to master the language very well; I am still learning the language. Maybe someday when I understand it very well, I will be thinking of featuring in a Yoruba movie. If I speak the language you will laugh at me and tell me to just stay here. Because people say see this woman o, why didn’t she just concentrate on her English movie and let us do our own. She wants to collect money from English and Yoruba.

    One of the Yoruba actors once said it is because they don’t get well paid. And that is the reason they can’t save for rainy days. Does this apply to the English sector too?

    I am not in that sector and do not know how much they get paid. But I have been made to understand from discussion that, in the Yoruba films, it is more like ‘do for me, I will do for you.’ That is why most of them are producers. Somebody told me with one million naira, I can shoot a Yoruba film. And I begin to wonder, if the one million naira is for equipment or for welfare like accommodation and feeding. How can you manage one million naira to produce a film? And he said I should not worry about that, there is a way they do it. If that is the case they need to do something about that.

    Professionally as an actor, how do you feel hearing such things?

    For English film, you are talking about the fee for one or two actors. By the time you bring two stars to feature in a film, that one million naira is finished. You have not even calculated money for the equipment, accommodation and other things like your cast, directors, cameraman and others. I don’t know how they do it, but that magic I’m yet to find out.

    Have you been called to feature in a movie for free?

    In the English sector, nobody does that. Everybody eye dey chock. It is not everybody that is dying to be a producer in the English movie. The actors don’t care if they are producers, their own is pay me my money, let me work for you and go. Everybody is using torch light in the afternoon to look for the money. So there is nothing like that. Who told you everybody wants to be a producer? For what now?

    Why is your face only regular in soaps?

    Like the one we are shooting now, I am on the screen every other day. I love soaps; they call me the queen of soap in Nigeria. It is not like I prefer one for the other. But the kind of scripts that come to me for TV series are too tempting to ignore. For you to put up a soap on TV, you have to meet up with certain standards. No television would even give you airtime if you don’t meet those standards. So for you to identify with a soap, first of all, it is not just something entertaining, it has to be educative. So if you sit down to watch soaps and sitcoms, you will know that it is not just all about entertainment. They are some movie scripts that have come to me and I just say no, I can’t do this. And because of this, every other month I am on set shooting. For instance I have six television series right now. We shoot twice every year. So if I have six series, shooting twice every year, it means throughout the year I am busy.

    How do you create time to rest from your busy schedule?

    The little time I have, I want to spend it with my family. I want to spend time with the grandchildren in the family, my sisters. If my mom and dad were still alive, I would pay them visit too. So there is a little time like that, I want to use that moment with my family to relax. Because dis our work eh, if you kill yourself inside. You go just go for nothing. Sometime you need to take time off to refresh yourself.

    Let’s talk about your contribution to the industry and people appreciating you for that…

    From the response I get, I can say I get appreciation every day of my life. Which of course is overwhelming and this propels me to work harder. For instance, December last year, the Council for Art and Culture in Abuja called me and gave me an award. I mean, for a federal government to call you and recgonise you, it is not a small thing. An award for positively branding Nigeria’s image, you know I belong to an industry where there are so many controversies and scandals. And for you to be there for over 10years and not be involved. For a federal government to recgonise that fact, I was thinking it is only when you create negative headlines, controversies here and there, and you are among the top five because of your negative headlines and controversies. I was thinking that is the kind of people they recgonised. I never knew there were some decent eyes somewhere watching out for some outstanding characters in Nollywood. When they called me to give me that award for positively branding Nigeria through Nollywood and for maintaining a decent profile, that got me Art and Culture Ambassador, what can be more than that? My state also honoured me with an award. What other appreciation do I need? If you visit my facebook page, you will see what people write about me. It means I am on the right track, and I don’t have to disappoint this people.

    But how did you do it, scaling through controversies?

    Self discipline my darling. It is not as if I am a perfect human being, I am not. It is not as if I have not done things that would have created news and headlines. But it is the way you handle those things when they happen. And you openly make up your mind. You won’t say because you want to be known, some people do things intentionally because they want to be heard. And for some, it is paying well for them, and you do not blame other people for toeing that line. Create some controversies, make some noise, you will become so popular and they will endorse you. Before you know, they are calling you for endorsements and you are making a mega pay. What baffles me these days is that when you ask the young people their role model, the yard stick they use in judging a role model, if you check it now, it’s not the same as it used to be. They will mention the name of the most popular person in show biz and I ask again is every celebrity a role model? The answer is no, because some are not close to being a role model. They are role models because they are popular, so they look up to them because they are popular. Not because of their life style, but their fame and fortune. If God has made you to attain that celebrity status, we should try as much as we can to be role models, because a lot of people look up to you.

    As an actor, what can you say has made you stronger?

    I have to remain humble because that part has always guided me. Humility is my watchword. No matter whom you are, if you are a proud person you can’t go anywhere. You will see yourself flying high, but you will drop into pieces. Because even the Bible takes out proud people and gives way to the humble. So every day I say, Father Lord, no matter the level you take me to, let me remain humble. Whatever I will have, that will change me, don’t give it to me.

    You look trimmer, is there a reason for this new look?

    I look slimmer. It is deliberate, I just wanted to shed some weight. I am getting older, and it is not good with weight. So when you are getting older, there are certain things you try to cut down. You don’t need a doctor to tell you that, because if you don’t you will begin to have health issues and then you begin to go to get some herbal things to help. I won’t take anybody’s herbs to lose weight, never! Because I have begun now, to prepare myself, I am aging, so I should know there are some certain things I should cut down on, on my own. So I don’t begin to run helter skelter for herbs to lose the weight or going for some surgeries. I don’t have time for that.

    African print and your designs, are you a designer?

    Some of the designs, my tailor makes them. But what people don’t know is that before I came into acting, I used to sew. I have a fashion house, when I was in school. It was helping me to pay bills, but when I came into acting, the fashion side of me died. But someday I want to bring it back pretty soon. So I create designs, I am very good at that.

    You love to sing and dance, any plans to go into music?

    I love music and dancing. I don’t know. I am not planning to. People are already yapping: Nollywood actors and actresses, must you people sing? (Laughs) because I am yet to see what has come out and really created waves – you know, being able to compete with the real musicians we have in the industry. I am yet to see one that will come out and compete with them. If you know where your calling is, please concentrate there. Everybody has got their own talent. It is becoming too much, I watch them, and I cry and ask, must you sing? If you are acting and you are yet to be popular and you feel singing will make you more popular, or make people automatically accept you, it is a lie o. these days, you don’t throw shit on Nigerians and feel they will accept.