The Nation Newspaper

Tag: show

  • Music, comedy at Legend Taste And Tell show

    Music, comedy at Legend Taste And Tell show

    The ancient city of Benin, Edo State, came alive recently, with popular singer, Terry G, leading the line-up of artistes contracted to add excitement to Nigerian Breweries’ brand activation show tagged, Legend Extra Stout ‘Taste And Tell’.

    Ever the entertainer, the Akpako master apparently came prepared to thrill the crowd that thronged the Playhouse Events Centre Benin as he

    Doling out tunes from his repertoire of popular songs, the Akpako master connected well with the crowd that thronged the Playhouse Events Centre, adding showmanship to the event with his his trademark bell. The event also featured hilarious comedy from the duo of De Don and Buchi. The comedians left the fun seekers reeling with laughter as they dished out joke after joke.

    However it was not all about the entertainers. The audience took the centre stage in the Legend ‘Taste and Win’ Game. Interested tasters were randomly selected from the crowd to identify which of the glasses contained the Real Stout. Prior to the game, basic characteristics of a real stout were read out by the comedian to include, unique and exciting bitter taste, a quality foam head and smoothness. At the end of the game, Blessing Kofi, a dancer as well as Abel Isele and Uyi Adams, both students of the University of Benin, were declared winners. Abel Isele got a brand new refrigerator, Uyi Adams was the lucky winner of a brand new plasma TV while Blessing Kofi, the only female winner, went home with a brand new generator.

    Speaking on the activation, Senior Brand Manager  Stout and Life beer, Nigerian Breweries PLC, Funso Ayeni, stated that the activation was a fulfilment of the brand’s promise to consistently engage and reward its consumers.

    He said: “Today the brand continues to enjoy steady patronage and we owe it to our teeming consumers. We do not take their support for granted and that is why in addition to our pledge of always delivering a stout drink of the highest quality to our consumers, we are always looking for ways to engage and appreciate them.”

    The Legend ‘Taste and Tell’ Activation, which kicked off in March 2015, will move to other cities across the country, ending in June 2015. Lucky winners walk away with mouth-watering prizes like generators, refrigerators, TV sets and free Legend Extra stout drinks amongst others.

  • Show of shame

    • The NLC election fiasco was a disgrace and part of our serial loss of institutional integrity

    If any event qualified to be referred to as a ‘show of shame’, the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) 11th National Delegates Conference held on February 12 was it. Not only did the conference fail to produce a new president to succeed the incumbent, Abdulwaheed Omar, it ended in crisis.

    Delegates at the conference began throwing chairs and exchanging fisticuffs when they should be electing a new leader. The ugly spectacle which took place at the Labour House Headquarters in Abuja immediately reminded us of the way our legislators sometimes behave or, worse still, the election by members of the road transport workers who often throw caution to the wind on such occasions.

    Things appeared to be going smoothly until some discrepancies were noticed in the ballot papers. Three candidates began the struggle for Labour’s Number One position. They were NLC’s current National Treasurer, Ayuba Wabba; the Deputy President, Joe Ajaero, and the President, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Achese Igwe. Igwe,however later stepped down for Ajaero. Some of the delegates claimed that some ballot papers had Wabba’s name in three places and   Ajaero in two places and that others which did not   have Ajaero’s name on them also had no serial numbers. These made some of the delegates from Igwe’s constituency to call attention to the discrepancies.

    Obviously, delegates loyal to Igwe felt the errors were deliberately made to give Wabba, who had been favoured to win the election before Igwe stepped down and declared support for Ajaero, an undue advantage. It was at this stage that things degenerated as some of the delegates loyal to either Wabba or Ajaero started throwing chairs at each other.

    Whatever the cause, the fact that the Labour leaders who are supposed to be role models could descend as low as to be throwing chairs at each other during an election shows that there is no difference between them and the average politician on the street who sees election as a ‘do—or-die’ affair. Indeed, and regrettably, that is what the contest for leadership positions has become in the NLC. This is not surprising though because the Congress sits atop hefty sums that are dispensed at the behest of the leaders. The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and NUPENG contributed N423m, N320m   and N159m, respectively, to the congress between 2011 and June 2014. This is a lot.

    The Labour leaders involved in the fracas must bury their heads in shame. Coming on the heels of the allegation that the leadership of the Congress had duped workers to the tune of N900bn over their failure to deliver houses promised the workers who deposited 10 percent of the cost of the houses since 2013 for their dream houses in a housing scheme promoted by the NLC, there is a lot to ponder over the affairs of the Labour union. With these dents, on what moral pedestal will the NLC leadership now stand to champion the cause of the common man?

    It is unfortunate that these developments are rearing their heads at this point in time when the country is at a crossroads. What is happening on the political plane demands that all hands must be on deck to ensure that democracy is not derailed in the country and Labour, ordinarily has a major role in salvaging the situation.

    The fracas must be investigated, including the discrepancies on the ballot papers, to determine how they came about. Those involved should be punished for the unpardonable blunders that exposed the Congress to ridicule.

    We call on surviving Labour icons like Hassan Sunmonu and Adams Oshiomhole to rise to the occasion and salvage the Congress before things get worse. Nigerian workers cannot be left in the hands of people who cannot manage their own internal affairs. As they say, ‘when gold rusts, what would iron do’?

     

  • PDP circus show begins

    PDP circus show begins

    The Nigerian political sphere is replete with mind-boggling wonders. But quite sadly, the surprises of the polity are not usually for the larger interest of the people but to serve the greed of the few power mongers around. When all seemed to be going reasonably smooth for the coming February elections, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, in a manner akin to what happened in previous notorious administrations, called for a shift in the scheduled February elections.

    It was during his recent appearance at the London think-tank, Chatham House, where he reportedly delivered a lecture titled: “Nigeria’s Insecurity: Insurgency, Corruption, Elections and the Management of Multiple Threats.” Dasuki, at the question and answer session, scandalously sought the postponement of the February elections by three months. His reasons: “INEC had distributed 30 million cards in the past year but had another 30 million to hand out.” He further pointed out that despite the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman had assured him that the commission would meet up with the February date, he (NSA) still ‘thought it will make more sense to take more time and there was a 90-day window during which the election could legally take place. It costs you (INEC) nothing; it’s still within the law.’

    Since the NSA spoke, it was as if other puppeteers of President Goodluck Jonathan were waiting for a man of his standing to set the template before they start parroting same. Except for the leading opposition party, All Progressives Congress(APC), and perhaps another party, the others without insignificant political presence have queued into the shameless call for a shift which obviously was meant to scuttle the impending electoral loss awaiting the president and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the coming general elections. The United States, through her Secretary of State, John Kerry, had told the Nigerian government that the general elections must hold as scheduled. Rather than re-echo this, it is frightening to note that our president merely stated the cliche that the ‘May 29 handover date is sacrosanct.’ What a nebulous response to a serious challenge! So, it means that even if the elections are shifted, the May handover date will stand. One can’t but laugh!

    This column wants to know what kind of handover the president wants to do because his statement is pregnant with frightening imports. But the truth is that Nigerians will take nothing other than handover to a democratically elected president and governors come May 29th. Any contrary thing could be an invitation to avoidable anarchy. And this reminds of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), an English philosopher best known for his political thought. He was concerned with the problems of social and political order. He talked about how human beings could live together in peace in order to avoid civil conflict. Hobbes advocated obedience to an unaccountable sovereign (under the presumption that the sovereign would be reasonable and responsible). And that this could be a person or group empowered to decide every social and political issue. Failure to do this according to him could lead to what he called a “state of nature” that is anarchical where the life of the people is ‘brutish, nasty and poor.’

    But looking at the past and current situations in the country, it is doubtful if Hobbes contemplated human beings, especially politicians, as purely self-interested or egoistic. This poser has been the speck on the theory of this founding father of modern philosophy because it gives no reverence to the need for good ethics, morality and conscience as parameters for leadership obedience by the governed.

    This postulation becomes more germane through the way and manner that otherwise men of honour are clamouring for a shift in the February elections which to this column, is quite damning. Yours sincerely wonders if public morality and the larger public interest have impact on a politician’s or public office holder’s decision on public affairs. The impunity against morality and character going, especially on this clamour for election postponement by the ruling PDP has underscored the fact that conscience as the inner voice that warns us in our overt conducts that somebody may be looking is lacking in the party and the government it runs. The directing minds of the parties behind this condemnable scheming have no feelings for the groaning Nigerians that are tired of the misrule of the PDP and President Jonathan.

    What the presidential surrogates behind the plot are doing is to lay the perfidious ending for the president except reason prevails. Let the president be reminded that they did same thing to military despot Ibrahim Babangida as Head of State before he was ignominiously forced to step aside; late tyrant Sani Abacha suffered similar fate from his bootlickers, while the same set of politicians/aides deceived and encouraged former President Olusegun Obasanjo to pursue a well-designed orchestrated disgraceful end. One will perhaps be correct to state that Obasanjo ended abysmally with the ultimate collapse of his Third Term agenda through which billions of state funds were reportedly disbursed as alleged gratification to politicians perceived to be strategically positioned to bring that inordinate ambition to fruition.

    Again, President Jonathan must realise that Nigerians no longer want him but CHANGE. Except he wakes up from his deep political slumber, he may not be realising earnestly that these same set of choristers/political bigots that destroyed former leaders are presently goading him to an avoidable political precipice. It is high time he realised that his game is up because he has demonstrated in six years of being at the saddle that he does not have the capacity to rule this country. What the country needs most at this crucial period is a party that could inspire the country to do what she is capable of being.

    The elections must hold as scheduled because there is no sincerity of purpose, truthful justice and realistic reliability in this odious call for election postponement by the PDP and the president’s henchmen. This column is almost certain that the words of gratitude of presently suffering Nigerians and the future generations will not be kind on these political jesters in PDP and other atmosphere- fouling political parties of negligible consequence. This circus show by the PDP and President Jonathan on election shift is unacceptable. It is a sad repeat of the better-forgotten history that has, sadly, taken the country to nowhere.

  • Power show

    •The tango, between the federal and Rivers State authorities, over the use of a Port Harcourt stadium, gave due process no bounce

    Just as well Goodluck Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic, has held his Rivers State presidential campaign rally at the Adokiye Amiesimeka Stadium, Port Harcourt. Failure to do so would have been unimaginable.

    Unimaginable — not by presidential might, but by law. Unfortunately, both sides resorted to impunity, as distinct from decency and common sense (at best) or reasoned law (at worst). It was a big minus for Nigeria’s democracy.

    To start with, on what basis might the Rivers State government prevent the president and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from using that stadium for their campaign, when Governor Rotimi Amaechi had allowed Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of his own All Progressives Congress (APC), access to the facility?

    It was impunity, pure and simple — if all the reasons given did not deter the use of the place by Gen. Buhari, yet they were supposed to be cogent enough to deter President Jonathan from enjoying the same privilege.

    That was not good enough, and the Rivers State government should be better guided next time, lest it takes one-sided decisions that question its claim to equity and fair play.

    But to right this wrong, what did the president do? He also resorted to strong-arm tactics, drafting soldiers to yank off the Rivers State government’s feeble hold on the place. The symbolism of this, even if it could be not unfairly argued it was impunity tackling impunity, was well and truly sinister.

    For starters, Nigeria operates a federal system — more by the breach perhaps! In such settings, both the federal and state governments are coordinates, even if the Federal Government is responsible for the country as a whole. To therefore throw in the army to seize a state facility, simply because the federal side controls that force, is a grave abuse of privilege.

    In a sense, it is tantamount to a coup — what is a coup, after all, but the treason of over-powering and shunting aside the legal authority of a state government? Given Nigeria’s peculiar experience with military rule, the Jonathan Presidency ought to have been more circumspect; and avoid settling a partisan issue, with the willful throwing-in of the army, a key state organ which ought to be neutral in partisan disputes.

    It also stinks of self-help and crass personalisation of state institutions — a charge Governor Amaechi is no less guilty of. If the president misused the army to press his own right to use the stadium for electioneering — just as his rival party did — the governor too stands fairly charged for unfairly trying to block the president and his party from a facility owned by his state. Both parties did no justice to democracy, which basic credo is due process and fair play.

    The scandal in all of this is the concept of Nigerian civil rule sans civility. Civility is basic mutual respect, even with fierce partisan differences. It is the building block, on which the law, which powers due process, is erected. Civil rule without civility is akin to a democracy without democrats. That that is Nigeria’s fate, even after 16 unbroken years of democracy, is indeed nothing to crow about.

    Fela, the epitome of a musical icon as an iconoclast, did a number, “Power show”, mocking the devil-may-care impunity of Nigeria’s best-forgotten military era. That the president and a state governor have resorted to power show, to press the right to pitch for people’s vote, en route to an election which is the quintessence of choice, is a monumental irony.

    Both high officials of state must, in future, aspire to better conduct — if fellow Nigerians, who take their cues from their leaders, must perceive them as democratic ambassadors.

  • Olashore School begins road show

    Olashore International School has launched its national and international interactive road show in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. It will also “touch down” in some other cities, including Abuja, Warri, Lagos and end in London, the United Kingdom.

    The yearly road show aims at fostering parents’ involvement in the education and development of their wards. It also offers the platform to demonstrate how Olashore School is going beyond classroom education, and deliberately creating an environment, that develops leaders who can fit into the competitive global society.

    In a statement yesterday, the head teacher, Derek Smith, said the OIS-Parent cocktail would provide an avenue for prospective parents to interact with stakeholders and gain deeper insight into the school.

    The proprietor and chairman of board of trustees,  Bimbo Olashore, said: “We are proud to say that the school has progressed to a stage of a stable educational institution offering the very best of secondary education you can get anywhere in the world.

    “Over the past 20 years, we have succeeded in creating a community of world class services around the school, including a first class hotel, a golf course and leadership training centre that combine to give the school a unique identity.

    “Parents who are visiting Iloko- Ijesa for the first time are usually pleasantly surprised by the array and the quality of the facilities and services we have created around the school. We have quietly over the past few years invested heavily in infrastructure that match the vision we have for the school.

    “And we are proud of what we have been able to put in place. We are only asking people to come around and see things for themselves.”

  • All set for MTN breakdance show

    All set for MTN breakdance show

    The journey to Braunschweig, Germany, in the MTN- sponsored MTN Battle of the Year breakdance competition has begun, with auditions slated for Lagos.

    Starting with a qualifier this weekendat Koga Studios, Ikeja, the telecommunications company will be giving the youth an opportunity to showcase their dance skills on the biggest stage in the world.

    The screening is expected to feature the best and most innovative breakdance crew from across the country.

    After the qualifiers, the one-on-one side event will take place at the Silverbird Galleria on Saturday, August 23. The National Finals follows next day at the in-door sports hall of University of Lagos.

    The organisers said the best crew would travel to Braunschweig, Germany in October to represent Nigeria at the international breakdance competition.

    Last year, Space Unlimited crew represented the country at the international finals that held at Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweigh, Germany. The crew beat competitors such as 3ple DK from Jos, Oomph from Benin and others to win the sole ticket to represent the country.

    The competition, for this year’s ticket is expected to be intense and exciting, starting with the screening at the weekend.

    Host of the show is popular Andre Blaze, a former Rhythm FM presenter and anchor of Nigeria’s Got Talent reality show.

  • US movie theaters to show Premier League games

    Movie theaters around the U.S. will show live English  soccer games on their big screens on Saturday mornings.

    The simulcasts will start with the opening of the Premier League season Aug. 16. Thirty-three theaters in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington are currently scheduled to take part.

    The deal was announced Wednesday by Fathom Events and NBC Sports Group, which broadcasts the Premier League in the U.S.

     

  • Keke Palmer launches talk show

    Keke Palmer launches talk show

    KEKE Palmer, the celebrated kid star in the popular movie, Akeenah and the Bee, is deploying her creative ability to good use, as she has now launched her talk show, Just Keke.

    Just Keke, according to reports, was an instant hit among BET’s young audience who have been looking for a show that covers topics that they relate to and identify with.

    The young actress kicked off the show with a monologue explaining why she felt it was time to have her own show, before giving a behind-the-scenes peek at her BET Awards show experience through personal footage. Throughout the show, there was also a discussion segment, a rap battle, a surprise face time from Kevin Hart and a visit from Michael Ealy.

  • Italian artist on show

    An art exhibition by an Italian artist, Gigi Micheletti, featuring unique paintings on canvas with lots of innovative ideas that would inspire artists and art lovers opened at the Penthouse of DTV Building 7, Taslim Elias Close, Victoria Island Lagos, last Friday.

    The event was curated by Mrs. Mia El Khoury Comazzi, Gigi Micheletti’s representative. It was an opportunity for the art lovers and collectors to meet and exchange ideas.

    Mrs. Comazzi said the Capitan Fracassa, a painting on the invitation poster, which represents a swordsman, was inspired by a theatrical fencing. The canvas has been displayed in a renowned Lagosian restaurant and a guest reported that Captain Fracassa’s expression is similar to the one of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver when, in front of the mirror, he mutters:” “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”

    She said the event is to introduce Micheletti to the many famous Nigerian artists as well as to display his art works and his broad imagination he had put on canvas. “We expect a beautiful event with people who are into art and who appreciate it. He will be there to explain what each painting portrays, the messages behind them through its wide imaginative reasoning,” she affirmed.

    According to her, Micheletti, who grew up in Africa, is a well travelled artist with extensive imagination and his paintings have a combination of multicultural themes.

    Micheletti was born in Gattinara (province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy) on December 29, 1953 into a family with strong ties with Ghana, where he spent the first 10 years of his life. Lydia Stenzel, a talented water colored artist and family friend, encouraged him to draw, having discovered his artistic potential. Returning to Italy with his family, between 11 and 14 years, Gigi was under the tutelage of an art teacher, Maestro Edoardo Achino di Masserano (BI). Although he undertook a scientific course of study and later started working, he never stopped dedicating himself to art and music, and bound one to the other, with great enthusiasm and passion. He has been working in Nigeria for over thirty years and he keeps painting.

  • Nigeria, Ghana hold tourism show in April

    Nigeria, Ghana hold tourism show in April

    The Ghanaian government through its tourism coordinating agency, Ghana Tourism Authority, has thrown her weight behind Tribe Media towards the successful organization of the second edition of the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase 2013.

    The two-day event which was first held in 2011 is scheduled to hold from April 18 to 19 at the Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana. Though initiated by Tribe Media, publishers of Horizons Int’l magazine in collaboration with Pan-Africa Ghana, the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase remains not just the first privately organized bilateral arts, tourism and culture event in the West African sub-region, but the biggest Private Public Partnership (PPP) in the sub-region credited to be the most prestigious and best attended arts, tourism and culture forum geared towards promoting Africa’s tourism potential as well as the restoration and sustenance of the people’s cultural heritage.

    A statement by the Deputy Executive Director/Operations, Ghana Tourism Authority, Frank Kofigah said: “The board is very pleased with the efforts of Tribe Media aimed at maximizing the tourism and cultural potential of both Ghana and Nigeria for mutual socio-economic gains”.

    In a similar vein, the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, having endorsed the event in a letter signed by Andrew Idi for the High Commissioner, Ambassador Ademola Onafowokan, the High Commission expressed delight in endorsing the event, while urging Tribe Media to improve on the remarkable success of hosting the 2011 event just as “the High Commission hopes this year’s edition of the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase will further provide a greater basis for the projection of Nigeria’s culture”.

    This year’s edition, which has an expanded scope is already eliciting so much enthusiasm in the tourism, arts and culture sector. Some of the supporting partners include: National Council for Arts and Culture, Osun State Government, Ghana Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture, Artists’ Alliance Gallery, Ghana, among others.

    The high points of this year’s event will include: The conference with intellectually stimulating expert discussions and interaction intended to annex the tourism potential of both nations, reawaken the intrinsic cultural values of Africa and as well enliven her people’s pride and prestige. There shall be musical performances with the very best of indigenous Afro-centric music and dance. The exhibition will focus on a showcase of our rich tourism potential cultural heritage, showcase of African fashion/fabrics in the fashion parade by some leading Nigerian/Ghanaian designers, display of traditional African hairstyles and cultural performances from selected participating states in Nigeria and regions in Ghana as well as invited cultural troupes. While the gala night will feature the regional West Africa Business, Tourism and Culture Award in special recognition of efforts by individuals and organisations committed to evolving a new culture to promote values for growth and development in different spheres of African renaissance especially with regional business interest, promotion of tourism and sustenance of our cultural heritage.