African Entertainment
Jun 1st

DAD GAVE ME MY WIFE

By Jane bond

 – Dayo (D1) Adeneye
By Taiwo Oluwadare
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Dayo Adeneye, a radio/T.V presenter, has carved a niche for himself in broadcasting as well as entertainment. Prime Time Africa, a programme that he anchors with his bosom friend and colleague, Kenny Ogungbe, is a rave both on radio and television.

But Adeneye aka D1 and Kenny are more visible in the entertainment sector with their record label, Kennis Music, which they floated during their days in Ray Power FM.
When the recording industry seemed dead with the collapse of major labels, the duo of D1 and Kenny went into the business headlong.

They discovered artistes like The Remedy, Paul Play, Tony Tetuila and invested huge amount of money on them. Indeed, their efforts have helped propel the growth of the music industry. In this encounter with Blockbuster, Adeneye recalls how it all started and talks on other issues like piracy, family life, his friend, Kenny Ogungbe and challenges facing the industry.

Beginning
We went into the music business when nobody was there. We invested our money, blood and sweat when everybody said music business was dead. Who discovered artistes like the Remedy, Tony Tetula and Paul Play Dairo? Who invested in them? We invested our money and sweat on them. So, why wouldn’t we always be visible? We can’t take the credit; it is God. But we are glad to be part of the process and for being the instruments to fortify the Nigerian music industry. So, why should we take a back seat having propelled this growth of the industry? We should be at the forefront.

What motivated me into entertainment
I like imparting knowledge in people. I like putting smiles on people’s faces, to make them relax either through music or entertainment programmes. It gives me joy and a sense of fulfillment. Whenever people stop me on the street, saying “we like what you do”, it makes me feel I’m doing what people appreciate and this makes me want to do more.

Economic meltdown and entertainment
Yes, it is a worldwide phenomenon. So, Nigeria cannot be isolated. The financial crunch is affecting everybody especially the multi-nationals. Of course, it is affecting the entertainment industry as people who would normally book like 20 to 30 artistes for shows are now reducing it to 5 or 10. And those who used to pay three or four million naira for artistes are now paying like N5,000. In the area of sponsorship of events, most organizations are pruning down because of financial constraints. Let’s pray and hope that things would pick up soon.

However, our movies and music are beginning to take a centre stage not just in Africa but across the world. The likes of Tuface, 9ice, Ruggedman and D’banj continue to represent Nigeria internationally. They consistently have won international awards. Our Nollywood movies have been quite well. I hope we can capitalize on that and turn it into a vibrant moneymaking machine that government and people of Nigeria can also benefit from.

Challenges facing the industry
There are a lot of things that need to be done. You can have the best idea in the world but if you don’t have a way to execute it, it would remain just an idea. We need to have bigger and better awards. We need to have better technology, music production, video productions, and better film making equipment. All these things cost money. That is why we keep asking government to invest in entertainment. If government invests in the entertainment industry and eradicate piracy, artistes will be able to earn their proper incomes and pay their taxes.

My friend, Kenny Ogungbe
Both of us met in school. We were basically in the same class for almost five years, studying accounting. We became very good friends. We left Ray Power because we just decided to move on. It was just another pace of life. We just felt we’ve done most we could do in that environment. It’s just like a bird, if it’s time for it to leave its nest it flaps its wing and takes off. It was just time to move on and thank God we don’t have any regret.

On Kennis Music and Prime Time Africa
We just get the job done. Here we have a Managing Director; we call ourselves partners and get the jobs done. And that is the secret of our success. The brand, Primetime Africa is what we sell here. We believe if we are successful, everybody gets to share the glory.

Why artistes are leaving Kennis Music
You need to ask them why they left. I’m the wrong person to ask. But I’ll tell you the only thing constant in life is change. Some of them, their contracts expired and both parties agree not to renew. It is not peculiar to Kennis Music alone. Go to Westside Music or Little Fish Record some of them don’t even exist anymore. So, that is the trend in the business. I don’t want to respond to the allegation that we don’t pay royalty to our artistes. You need to bring me those people instigating the allegation. You are a journalist; you should bring me the person that said this artiste is not paid. What you are telling me is a rumour and I don’t respond to rumours.

What fame has done for me
I don’t want to say that fame is a double-edged sword. It opens door for you but at the same time, you lose your privacy. You don’t have time for yourself anymore. But the advantages have outweighed its disadvantages. I love what I do.

Most embarrassing moment
It was some years back in AIT when a female presenter and I were presenting the morning show. She dropped a pen during a commercial break. I tried to pick up the pen and she also tried to pick up the pen not knowing we were live on TV. The situation was really awkward. It was like we were doing something we were not supposed to be doing. That was quite embarrassing but we laughed over it.

How I met my wife
I met my wife through my father. He introduced her to me. That’s all. Today, I’m happily married with children. My wife supports me; she and the children enjoy what I do. I love my family life.

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Jun 1st

DEEPENING DEMOCRACY: Rita and Democracy

By Jane bond

By Jibrin Ibrahim
www.234next.com
May 31,2009

I arrived in Lilongwe airport, Malawi, with a letter from the Commonwealth requesting I be given a visa on arrival to monitor their elections. I was worried about the usual airport humiliation Nigerians suffer. I handed my passport and waited with trepidation.

The question from the immigration officer threw me off guard - "did you travel with Rita Dominic?" I asked who Rita was and he responded that as a Nigerian, how could I ask him who Rita was. I pleaded ignorance and he said Rita was a Nigerian star who like me was to fly in from Johannesburg.

Disappointed that I did not even know Rita, he gave me a form to fill and said when I get into town; I should go to the immigration office and get my visa. I was relieved.

On reading the local papers, I realised the visit of Rita Dominic was causing as much frenzy as the elections we had come to observe. Indeed, the highlight of President wa Mutharika's campaign was the unveiling of a mausoleum in honour of the late dictator, Kamuzu Banda and Rita was the star attraction. That evening, a major concert was to be organised in Blantyre to present Rita to the people of Malawi.

Intrigued by the role Rita was playing in advancing Malawian democracy, I convinced the Chair of our observer team, former Ghanaian president, John Kufour to go and see Rita.

To my surprise, he accepted and off we went to the sports centre where I quickly contacted protocol and we were led through the crowded VIP entrance to the lounge. Two hours later, the show had not started and the general manager of DSTV Malawi, organisers of the concert, came to explain that the hall was full, the crowd outside was larger than the one inside and the crowd had massed round the VIP entrance so they do not know how to bring Rita in.

I told him President Kufour and I walked through the crowd so why can't Rita do the same. He looked at me as if I was an idiot. Rita, he explained, was a mega star and her security is very important. They cannot afford to take a risk. Knowing our place vis-a-vis a Nollywood mega star, Kufour and I quietly walked through the crowd and left. The manager was right; no one took a second glance at us.

The incident reminded me of an occasion when I was checking into a hotel at Jinja, the source of the River Nile in Uganda. On discovering that I was Nigerian, the receptionists questioned me extensively about Nollywood stars about whom I was ignorant. Their conclusion was edifying. Given my corpulence, they expressed the possibility that I could be a Nigerian because I look like one of the big ogas with mansions and four-wheel drive vehicles in the films. However, they added that, since I don't know anything about Nollywood, I cannot really be African, and certainly, not Nigerian.

I always get a shock while travelling round Africa and I realise that my identity as a Nigerian is defined by Nollywood. While Dora Akunyili thinks that she is rebranding Nigeria, Nollywood is the institution branding the country, and the brand revolves around crime, treachery, drugs, superstition, black magic and sex.

The Malawian presidential and parliamentary elections of 19th May were a relatively good branding for democracy and Nigerians, not even Nollywood can give them lessons. Although Kamuzu Banda ruled the country as a ruthless dictator for thirty years, Malawians have managed to engage along the democratic path since 1994 and have made progress.

With the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1994, Bakili Muluzi had defeated Kamuzu Banda in the elections. After ten years in power, Muluzi's attempt to change the constitution and get a third term in office was defeated by the people but he was able to impose his candidate, Mutharika just as Obasanjo did in Nigeria.

Mr. Mutharika's five-year term was difficult because Muluzi controlled the party that brought him to power and the opposition had a majority in Parliament. Mutharika survived by focusing on a development agenda that conquered the hearts and minds of Malawians. The country has had the highest growth rate in Africa over the past three years.

Incompensation, Mr.Mutharika, who established a new party won an overwhelming 50.7% of the presidential votes leaving John Tembo's opposition alliance with 24% while his party won 114 out of the 192 parliamentary seats contested for. The elections were very transparent with political party monitors and civil society observers allowed to witness all aspects of the process from the distribution of voting materials, polling station activities and the counting and collation of votes.

An unfortunate part of the elections however was that there was no level playing ground, as the only television station in the country and national radio, all under state control devoted 93% of their coverage to the president's party. Creating a level playing ground is therefore essential for the next round. I hope Rita will tell the president.

 

 

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May 23rd

JIM IYKE PREPARES FOR THE ALTAR

By Jane bond
  E-mail
Written by Ekerete Udoh   
Saturday, 23 May 2009

*In love with a Jamaican actress , *His grouse with Nigerian women

He  has been variously described as Nollywood’s playboy -a serial heartbreaker, one whose motto vis-a-vis relationships with women, appears to be “use them and leave them.” Tabloid stories about his sexual escapades are in volumes, leaving many to wonder what he is looking for in a woman or if he will ever find that unique woman who will melt his heart and make him entertain the thoughts of walking down the aisle.

 

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Jim Ike
During a recent encounter with Jim, in New York, the issue of his play-boy image and stories of his sexual liaisons were exhaustively probed. As reported before, he vehemently denied being a playboy, however, admitting that “a million women may pass through your life, but only one will stick and strike that chord in you.” It appears that that one woman may have finally materialized, and struck a strong chord in Jim Iyke’s life.

 

There have been some rumors and published speculations that the handsome actor may have finally found a woman of his dreams - a fact that he has neither denied  nor confirmed, until now. Jim Iyke was asked explicitly if he had finally found the elusive dream woman, and if so, what qualities stood her out of the numerous others that competed for his heart, love and affection?

Smiling infectiously, Jim volunteered, “I am going to tell you everything you need to know. As a matter of fact, I am going to use this opportunity to finally break my silence over this issue. As you rightly pointed out, a lot has been written about my new found love, most of them largely speculative in nature.

“Yes, it is true. I have found the woman of my dreams, and we are in love in totality. She is the embodiment of all that I have been looking for:  tall, pretty, exotic and supremely intelligent. I was looking for a woman who would complement and reinforce my intellectually curious mind -someone who would add and not subtract, and I’m happy to admit that I have finally found her. Her name is Phil, and I would leave it at that.”

How They Met

“I  met Phil sometime last year in the United States. She’s of Caribbean ancestry - more specifically Jamaican. We had a movie shot in Baltimore and Phil was invited by her then friend, Ruth Okoro, to the set, and we had an instant connection. Initially, I thought I was just going to have a good time with her, and keep it moving.

But her beauty, intellect, deeply ingrained values and an abiding capacity to understand and deconstruct me struck me. No other woman I had met ever took time to learn who I was, and what elements and values define my entire being.

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On the to the alter will he ever get there?

 

Phil’s love for me was not based on my fame, rather she cared much about Jim Iyke, as an individual and not Jim Iyke as a star-actor and Nollywood superstar.

I have always believed in the partnership of body, soul and the mind. Oftentimes, the women that crossed my path in the past were more interested in the partnership of the body. But Phil possesses both the intellectual ability and the traditional values that were in short supply  with my recent past relationships.”
In  the   past   few   months, the tabloid newspapers had regaled their readers with the case of betrayal on the part of Jim’s new found love. 

According to reports, “ Phil, supplanted and betrayed her close friend,- Ruth Okoro, who was said to be seeing Jim Iyke at the time she introduced her then best friend, Phil to the Nollywood Sexiest Actor.”
As a result of this betrayal, the two erstwhile friends are mortal enemies today. Asked if he ever had an affair with Ruth, Jim replied in the negative. 

“No. Ruth is not my kind of woman, and the notion that I was seeing her is totally preposterous. How could I be seeing Ruth, when she was even married to my boy, Philips Ehigiwina? She was sleeping around with Emeka Ike. I have values and moral ethos, and those values were in conflict with what I was seeing. 

That was the reason I called Ruth’s husband in Texas, and asked him to come to Maryland and see what his wife was doing with Emeka Ike.

Ruth was caught red handed in bed with Emeka Ike, and she knows this to be the truth. All the nonsense that was written about my alleged jealousy because Ruth was seeing both Emeka and me, were pieces of junk journalism. It is true that Ruth introduced me to Phil. I didn’t need to deny that.

I saw a winner in Phil and I went for her. I have no regrets. What Ruth wanted from me, unfortunately, I couldn’t give it to her because of the fact that I have some morals in me. All the negative things she has said about Phil never bothered me because I know who she is, and I am comfortable with who she is.”

Marital Plans

“Yes, we have discussed it. But we are taking it one at a time. I am actually at a point where starting a family is becoming an attractive proposition, and I am seriously exploring it.

 

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• Keturah ...Jim’s most romantic man
Phil and I have been to Nigeria. She has met with my parents and family members and they all love and adore her. Her values and background mirrors ours and it’s a great feeling. I would say that it appears as if we have the same DNA.”

Why Jamaican Woman?  

 

“I have nothing against the Nigerian woman.  As a matter of fact, I think some of the most beautiful women are in Nigeria, and indeed Africa in general. But I have made my choice, and my choice is a Jamaican woman, someone who has come to understand and appreciate me for who I am .

I do have my grouse with the Nigerian woman, though. Our women often go by the dictates and symbol of status, parental influence or pedigree as opposed to substance.

I struggle hard to make them understand who I am, but I am always unsuccessful. I am tired of that struggle. I have come to realize that it is better to deal with a foreign woman.

With our women, you struggle to define yourself. Foreign women are willing to take you for who you are, as opposed to what you are, which our women tend to emphasize.

If I am in a relationship with a Nigerian, and I am seen outside chatting up another girl - innocently, with no strings attached, I will have a lot of explanation to make to gain back her trust - even though I have nothing romantic to do with that woman.

It’s always a struggle to prove that you are not the person the society has defined you to be, and I am really tired of that struggle.”


Source - www.vanguardngr.com
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May 4th

A lot of Nigerians are hypocritical about sex—Bunmi Sofola

By Jane bond
 
Written by JEMI EKUNKUNBOR   
www.vanguardngr.com
Sunday, 03 May 2009

When veteran journalist and relationship expert, Bunmi Sofola launched the collection of her works about ten years ago, it was an instant hit. Page after page, you are brought face to face with knotty issues that affect relationships and of course, some of the intrigues that also go with relationships.

 Aunty Bunmi as she is fondly called, is frank, down to earth and will call any sex organ by its name and not by any contraption.
Sex is a major issue in her writing and counselling. These are issues parents will not address.  The churches are too spiritual to talk about it. Faced with sexual problems, a lot of people turn to Aunty Bunmi for help. Over the years, these problems have drawn hundreds and thousands of people to her column.  

As she turns 60 next week, the amiable journalist is set to launch another collection of her works, entitled “Yours Sincerely  - The Vanguard years”. Billed for Wednesday, May 6th at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the event will attract friends and well wishers to a programme expected to be a memorable one. In this chat at the Vanguard office in Lagos, I took up Yours Sincerely on the knotty issue of sex. She had a good laugh at my questions as she spoke once again very frakly and true to type. Enjoy

The issue of sex is big with your column. Even though a lot of people wouldn’t like to be seen reading soft sells, they hide behind serious newspapers to gulp information on sex.  Why is sex such a big issue?

My column is not just about sex. It is about relationships but sex oriented. You’d discover that in Nigeria, the average person is either enjoying sex or not enjoying sex or having too much or too little sex. And of course, there are problems attached to sex that they take so seriously. When you are young, you have all these STDs and when you start getting older, the women have menopause to grapple with while the men have prostrate issues to grapple with. At one stage or the other, you always have one sexual problem or the other and that is what I try to address in my column. It’s not strictly sex all the time.

So our lives revolve around sex?
Yes, because without sex, you won’t have children.

But sex sometimes is not for the purpose of having children?
Yes, I agree but let me tell you, without good sex, you won’t have a good marriage. One thing you should know is that with good sex, bad marriages have been sustained. So sex is part of you. It is part of everybody, therefore, it has to be addressed. It’s a big deal. I talk to people on one on one. When you read my answers, you feel as if I am talking to you. I don’t preach. I don’t admonish except if I have to. I just put the person in my position as if the person is in front of me and make it as personal as possible.

When are we going to get to the point where people can be open about sex and not hide under anonymous to ask questions?
The average Nigerian is hypocritical about sex. When you are having sex, you don’t talk about it. But now, the younger ones are open. They know what they want. The men talk about sex.

They brag about sex all of the time. Women seldom do. A few of them do these days but they seldom do. It’s going to stay that way for a long time except you want people to give you a bad name. If your focus is to get married, you can’t start bragging that you’ve slept with about 6-7 men in the last three, four months. People would not want to marry you. You are not  marriage material. So whatever you do, you keep to yourself.

So for young people who need counselling, can’t parents be open so that children can have correct information?
Some parents are open with sex but most of them are afraid that if they urge their children to go for it or don’t go for it, they might take them more seriously. If you have a 19 or 20 year old child, you suspect she might be having sex, but you won’t take her to the doctor’s to kit her with birth control pills.

It’s like you are saying now, I know you are having sex, then go ahead and do it. Because you don’t want that, you sort of skirt around the matter. It’s a very difficult situation. Each parent will have to use her own method. You tell her, let me know when it happens. She will never tell you.

However, let her know that whatever friend she has in this world, you are always her number one best friend and she would always come to you to talk. But some of them will come to the mother when they realise that their friends are not telling them the truth. The truth is you have to be your own counsellor. You know what you want, you know what you want for your children because even your friends will come and as
k you questions they already have answers to. They are just testing your own ground. It’s a very tricky thing.
So beside sex, what are the big issues with relationship?
Deceit is very rampant. Men have two to four women on the wing. Women do the same too sometimes. You cannot be sure who has affection for you. These days, you have couples coming together to get married. Then three to four months to the time, the wedding is called off and in the next six months, the girl has remarried.

They always have contingency plans. I don’t blame them. With all these things they see happening every day and with this economic situation, women are earning fantastic salaries now. So, they can do what they want and they can tell a man to go and take a jump. All these are a fall out of the economic independence. And when they get married and see that this man is a nasty man, they just decide to hang around, have two or three children and then leave.

And some can even discover that after the two or three children, they can sort of manage him. So they hang it there as long as it doesn’t bother them too much. But when it is an abusive relationship, then that is an entirely different kettle of fish you have to deal with. A man will be goody-goody before you get married then after marriage, the fangs are out.

Isn’t it ironic that our mothers who didn’t have a choice in who marries them have more lasting marriages than young people today who by themselves decide who they want to marry?
Do those marriages really last forever? Most of those women weren’t doing anything. The highest level of education some of them attained was secondary school. Those women didn’t have a say in the matter. Today’s woman have a say in who she wants to get married to. Our mothers would have loved to leave but they didn’t have any place to go to because the parents had sent them out and they couldn’t take them back and they didn’t have any job to go to. For better for worse that is why they cling to their children. You’d find mothers in law not letting go of their sons, not letting go of their daughters, interfering in their affairs because they aren’t really happy. They didn’t get that satisfaction in their marriages.

What are some of the new issues that have arisen between your first work and the one you are about to launch?
If you compare the first book I launched ten years ago, you’d see a lot of maturity with this new one and you’d see a lot of problems that didn’t crop up then. Like these relationships we are talking about now, how flippant and uncaring people are and all these sexual problems. We didn’t hear too much of AIDS and all these religious things, it's like a cult now.

People are so despondent and discouraged. They are hanging on to religion for an answer they are not getting. Sometimes, they are conned and you read about all these things in the papers. You have to be your own counsellor. You talk to yourself. You can’t deceive yourself when you are having a good conversation with yourself. This is what I have, this is what I can give out and this is what insult I can take. With that, you can have a focus and move on with your life without much interference.

Before the Vanguard years, what are some of the knotty issues that affected relationships?
Well, I’ve told you all these nonchalance towards relationships then these mega bucks, girls are now earning, driving fantastic vehicles and you see that in their attitude. You go to all these society weddings, millions of naira are pumped into them, three or four months later, the girl has packed her things and gone. They don’t want to hang on. They prefer to have children rather than go through a bad marriage or a bad relationship. Some will just settle down have two or three children by two or three different men. They don’t care as long as they have the money to bring up the children

Do we encourage this kind of thing?
No, we don’t. But they see it as an alternative to an abusive marriage. You see a man who ordinarily wouldn’t talk down at you talking down at you and then you say what the heck! and you walk away. Why would you want to stay with a mediocre when you know that first and foremost, you earn a better salary, you have better brains than he does? Why would you want to hang around so that he can lord it over you, tell you what to do? So things like these are the issues. It will stabilise with time but it’s going to take a long time or never. In spite of these, we have some good marriages because there are some mothers who really stay at the background and beg their wards to please stay.

Would you say your readers are the ones who actually give this sex slant to your writings?
No, not at all. I talk about whatever I want to talk about but if it is sex they are always hankering after, you discuss that and move on to other things. Sex is not everything. Some are worried about their future, some are worried about their education and some others are worried about their children.

They say as you grow older, thoughts of the spiritual become upper most on one’s mind.  But here you are talking sex most of the time. How does this whole thing affect you?
I’m a very happy-go-lucky person. What I write has nothing to do with me.  Like I said, I don’t think sex, sex all the time. But if you don’t think about it, you won’t write about it. And even if one were not writing, sex is something we think about. At 60 I am re-branding myself. They say 60 is the new 40. So now, I am a 40 year old.

And hot...
If I don’t look hot to you, I look hot to me. That’s what matters.

For the launch what do you look forward to?
I look forward to people who have read me to come and rejoice with me, to come to the hall maybe buy the book if they can and ask questions after the launch because I am going to be around. It is going to be very interesting and entertaining, no dull moment. I have a committee chaired by Dr Omolara Adadevoh and they are working hard to help package the launch. It’s going to be a lovely get together and then I’m cutting my birthday cake there.

After the launch, where can people get the book to buy?
After the launch, I’ll put it in my column where they can get the book to buy.

You’ve been in this profession for many years now. What has the practice of journalism been like for you?
It’s fun. If it wasn’t fun, would I still be there? It has its challenges, it’s a very tasking job but you are still there. Larry King says it all the time that it is the best job in the world, doing what you love and getting paid for it. It has its hassles too but I wouldn’t change all that for any thing.

6 Comments
May 4th

MANY NIGERIAN ACTORS HAVE FALLEN ON HARD TIMES - BOB MANUEL UDOKWU

By Jane bond
Bob Manuel has made a name for himself in the movie industry. The current Gulder Ultimate search anchor spoke with Funmi Elugbaju and Ada Onwuanum ... Being a celebrated artiste in the industry, how does that make you feel?

It makes me humble, really, because I didn’t start out thinking about the fame and what comes with it because I had always been a performer all my life. My first recollection of performing for the public was in primary school, my mum tells me about all the traits I displayed when I was a toddler, things I cannot remember anymore. I was trained by the late Professor Ola Rotimi who wrote The Gods Are Not To Blame. With this, I was able to tap very deeply into the man’s reservoir of knowledge in theatre. He was a very strict theater practitioner and of course with the training and experience came the good fortune of being part of what is today being called Nollywood pioneer. We did Living in Bondage in 1992 and the industry sprang up from there. So, I can’t say that I walked into this line of business with my eyes open. But, of course, you can never tell the picture so you won’t pretend to know everything that is going to happen because one had the idea that actors were popular people, judging from what we have in America. We didn’t have an industry and even those who were doing TV soaps were quite recognized. But the dimension it would take, one did not know until it became apparent that one was a force to reckon with. With that in mind, the answer to your question is it makes me humble, it gives me a very large sense of responsibility; that I have a lot of people who look up to me, especially young people. I have parents who admonish me and I have older people who draw inspiration from me as well, so it cuts across and it is a huge responsibility.

Was Checkmate your first exposure to the industry?

Nationally, yes. But before Checkmate, I was doing things. Before I got admission to study theater professionally, I was already doing stage performances. I was a presenter on FRCN Enugu. I was a guest presenter and I was also doing Television presenting. So, by the time I got admission to do that, I was already familiar with studio life for radio and on TV and of course performed as an amateur on stage. And so for me, it was a natural step from one end to the other. But even then, while I was in school, I was doing something for the TV in Port Harcourt. I did one or two things for national television but they were all one-offs. People usually know you for soap operas because you are on air almost every week especially when you play a vital or major role. In a sense, Checkmate was a drama series that gave me national attention and people could see me and call my name saying this is this person as opposed to when I was doing one-offs. Yes those who knew you before would still identify you but for Checkmate it was different. It became such that even when you go to Kano, Bayelsa, kogi people recognized you because every week on TV, 8-9 pm, they stayed glued to their TV sets and watched us display

You have really done a good job at remaining relevant in the industry. What would you say has kept you there?

First of all, I will talk about Providence. In this country where we are used to mounting guns all the time, even when it is obvious that people are conscious about religion in this country, but without saying I am not into the line, God has kept me where I am, personal effort and also hanging in there. I am from Anambra State, core Igbo land, where people look at the entertainment industry with disdain. Going to study Theatre Arts at that point in time when somebody was telling my father that how could you allow your son study Theatre Arts? And that what would he do when he comes out? That was the mentality, it still hasn’t changed much. Even Nigerians as a whole , the attraction to the industry is more of curiosity to survive and of course in this era of “Yes We Can,” we have shown that we can. So, personal discipline, because a lot of people do not believe this, but as an individual I am reserved, very quiet and shy and that is why I draw the line between those who I call fly shiners who create the impression that for you to be an artiste, you have to either look weird or act silly or downright stupid. Like they say, the robe does not make the priest, its only costume. For me, when talent comes into play, I play. That means, I remove myself as Bob Manuel and play the role so I can do any creative thing. It is creativeness drawn from the source of creativity which is God because the world was created out of nothing. So, when you finish that, you drop your costume and be yourself. It is that discipline, it is that not playing to the gallery; that thing that makes me not to be noticed when I shouldn’t be or when I basically want to keep my peace, even as an actor I draw a line between my work as an actor and myself as an individual. Yes, they say as an artiste you have no privacy, however where your right to invade my privacy starts, that is when my privacy begins, I discipline myself, I don’t do anything in excess, but I try to key in to what will help the industry and I have sincerity of purpose. Finally, being relevant, because what am doing in the entertainment sector is a calling that was dropped upon me when I was born and so it is something that you can’t keep me out of, like the musical birds that reinvent itself I guess somehow God helps me to keep reinventing myself, there is so much to be done and I work hard to be a catalyst to bringing back the industry to where they should be in the world of entertainment, am not talking about Africa but all over the world. For example Slumdog Millionaire the movie that swept the Oscars was shot in the slums of India. It cleared eight awards in the Oscars. God where are we?

Since you have been in the industry for a long time, how rich are you?

In terms of money, I can afford to eat my daily bread, because I work to get paid and people can see my means of livelihood, it is very visible. It is not like somebody who is nobody today suddenly becomes somebody tomorrow and we don’t know the source and yet we shout Hallelujah. So, in terms of physical cash, I work to get paid and I get by. But in terms of goodwill acting has put me in a pedestal where I can walk into Aso villa without an appointment and am admitted to see who I want to see, it has also earned me real star treatment on an international airline precisely north American airline, flying back from New York in march last year. They recognized me in John Kennedy airport in New York. They didn’t weigh my bag out of courtesy and while the flight was just starting, the flight attendant came to me and said you act in African movies, and they moved me out from there to the First Class and gave me the star treatment. These are just a few things. I mean people want to be associated with you. You go into the bank, and most of the bank staff will want to know why you are standing on the line. They will remove you from there and attend to you and majority of people want to do stuffs for you. During fuel scarcity, you park your car across the road, walk in to see the manager and he makes fuel available for you, of course not free of charge but there are things people want to do for you because they recognize the importance of your job. In a nutshell, I am very rich, not in terms of physical cash but the goodwill I have is much more than money. A phone call for me can open a door for me and I think the goodwill and the ability to do a lot without carrying cash means more to me than physical cash, I want to build a reputation that I should be able to move things in a positive direction without having to struggle to do that and helping others in the course of doing that as a result of what God has deposited in me from my ability to create things.

Are you married?

I am married with two children. The girl came first, her name is Hellion it’s a Hebrew name meaning Most High and my son, I named him after the great African Jamaican called Marcus Garvey and so my son’s name is Garvey. My wife's name is Cassandra and she understands what I do although she is the only one that can answer that question. I give her a lot of credit because the truth is it is not easy to be Bob Manuel, to be who I am, so how easy will it be for me to be the next person in the world of today where there are so many things calling for your attention at the same time. I am hardly around but when am home I try as much as possible to be with my family, play pranks with my kids and do lovey dovey with my wife. I always try to strike a balance but they are very understanding. I love my family.

What can you say went wrong at this year's AMAA as non-Nigerians carted away the awards

Well, as an individual I didn't even attend the Award because of some other engagements but we had a dismal performance at this year's AMAA. Well it goes to show that we need to buck up and do a lot of work. I must say that the organisers of AMAA too should think of investing in the industry. AMAA is an award that came as a result of the works we do. Millions is pumped into AMAA by the Bayelsa State government and U.B.A. I think it is not fair of the organisers of AMAA, to just organise AMAA ,bringing Americans actors and actresses and pay them well to come and enjoy themselves without even putting them here to do a film with us. Bring these people, yes but as they are coming let them know that under one week they will shoot a film with us. It is not enough to bring them here pay them money, give them all the necessary things they need and then they go back. Of what benefit is that to us? AMAA has not to put food on people's table in the industry.

Oh! Yes, the Award is about actors and actresses. Let me tell you what it should be, Nigerians should expect that immediately after AMAA comes a major movie follows. Even if it is one every year. A major movie involving American actors and actresses with some of us that are here so that they will truly know that they came to Africa. Take them to our villages and shoot films. Let them feel Africa. It is not about putting them in a big hotel in Lagos or Abuja or Yenagoa and then they go back home without even tasting the soil of Africa or smell Africa. Most of them, when they come here during press conference, the first thing they will say is I'm so glad to be here, why wouldn't they be glad to be here. They are paid to come, they are given the best treatment, let them come and see how we do movies.

Are you now blaming the organizers of AMAA for Nigeria's poor outing?

I'm not casting blame, I'm just stating facts. I don't believe in blames, other people can see it as blame but for me any objective thinking person will know that Bob Manuel is stating the facts. I mean it may not occur to them but this is a forum for them to know that some of us don't feel what is going on. You see the height and excitement is all long gone. Now AMAA has to re-event itself. It is not a question of blame, if anybody sees it as blame all well and good but I think there is something called constructive criticism.

What is really Nigerian movie practitioners?

There is meltdown. A meltdown is effecting Nollywood in fact it is a pity, It is horrible. Go to Winnies

a lot of our practitioners have falling on hard times, many people are in poverty and you don't shout praise the lord on empty stomach . You can't effectively entertain when people are hungry. Some of those awards should even be extended to veterans in the industry who have falling on hard times, give them hundred thousand of that millions that they vote for AMAA every year. Call some of them recognize them and give them two hundred thousand each from AMAA'S money . Five of them is one million and ten of them at hundred thousand each is one million, vote it aside and give it to this people they are falling on hard time.

Let us talk about your contract with Gulder, How did you get the job of anchoring the Gulder ultimate search?

I was auditioned, we were ten that were auditioned . After the audition by insight, the insight is the company that handles the Gulder account. We were auditioned on recorded and camera after that they sent it to Nigerian breweries. Well they know what they are looking, I believe that they looking for the best, eventually I was the person they selected. I'm glad, so far so good will be on it and I have a good relationship with them and the brand also, the ultimate Gulder.

Your face is scarce in movie now, will it be a sign or an indication that Gulder ultimate search is bringing more money?

My face is not scarce, I have been shooting films. There is a number of films I have shot that have not released, beside how many people's faces are all over the places now? How many posters do you see on street of Lagos? Is not only my face. How many films has any body featured in this year, this is first quarter of the year before Mile 2 you will see space, Ojuelgba you will not see space. The meltdown has melted everybody but we are still surviving. In this meltdown were screaming I was far away in America shooting a movie. The ultimate search is still done on T.V it is still the media. What if I become a governor tomorrow would you say you are no longer acting because you are a governor. Richard Mofe my friend is a commissioner if you give him a script he will do it fast and go back to his commissioners job.

I noticed that former Gulder ultimate search anchors are both tall guys, is it meant for only tall guys?

It will not be out of place if you say that height also enhances charisma. How many shot people have you seen cast in roles of king in films even in oyibo land? Height has a role to play. How many short people have won Miss Nigeria or any beauty pageant for that matter. I'm talking about short people not average, they have their place. In real life a short person can be a king but there must a reason for you to cast a short person to play the role of a king. But like I said if it is my height alone there there were those who came for the audition that were taller than me. There are combination of factors that only Nigerian breweries can answer.

What impact do you think that Gulder Ultimate Search is making in the life of youths?

Oh! It is changing a lot. Now if you bring 10 young people, I mean the age rate and none is up to 30 years yet but once they enter successfully as one of the 10, they don't go home empty handed. It is not a winner takes all event, the exposure is also there as a spring board. Most of them in the past are gainfully employed. Now, those that are still in school are doing very well, after the search all of them get paid very well and they have open access to Nigerian Breweries. They are free to come and do things and Nigerian Breweries does things for them as well. So it changes their lives a lot, and not just Gulder Ultimate Search only. All the brands are targeted at helping the youths.

How long are you staying with Gulder Ultimate Search?

It is left for the owners of the production of show to say. But for me, they have not given me any cause to say I'm not happy with them and I believe that I have not given them any cause to say they are not happy with me . So I think we have a wonderful relationship.

Is it true you are a friend of Wesley Snipes?

It's true. Wesley is a good friend of mine. He is having some problems lately, but I pray he gets over it.

6 Comments
May 4th

So sad! My parents are not witnesses to my success story - Rita Dominic

By Jane bond
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Sunday, 03 May 2009 00:00


Born 34 years ago in Mbaise, Imo State, Rita Dominic is no doubt one of the most celebrated Nollywood actresses. Her consummate love for the... arts, especially music, dates back to her childhood years and this had prompted her to enter and win several dance competitions with vocal expressions in the art of traditional music. In this interview with the Nigerian Compass on Sunday, alluring Rita tells her story to Funmi Salome Johnson. Excerpts:

How is life with you?

Life is very well, thank you. I am taking one day at a time.

What has been happening to you movie wise?

Movie wise, I have been very selective with the kind of work that I do in the last two years. If you notice, you will find that I have not been jumping from one set to another because I think I have done my fair share of doing very typical commercial movies. Now I do jobs that will stretch me more as an actress, work that will challenge me more because I feel at a point in your career, in this industry, you have to set certain standards for yourself, which is what I have been doing in the last two years. This is my eleventh year in the industry, so I feel if at this point in my career I am still being seen in some movies that does not make sense or movies that are not good, then it only means that I am not trying to go further with my career or that I have not learnt anything.

Now that you are more selective with the movies you do, what are those type of movies will meet up with the standard you are talking about?

I have to read the script, the story has to be good, the character has to be challenging and it has to stretch me as an actress.

Can you mention some of such movies you have done in recent times?

Yes, there is a film I did about two years ago but it is just coming out now. It has just been released in Nigeria and it has also been released in other countries like Ghana, America and some other foreign countries.

What is the title of the film?

The title of the film is ‘Distance between’ and it was directed by Izu Ojukwu and Mercy Johnson was in it, Kalu Ikeagu and Yemi Black. It has a fantastic story, a kind of story that I hope will impact knowledge in people when they watch it. It is a very deep story. There is also ‘White Waters’ and then there is another one I did with Izu as well, we just finished it about a month ago, I think it is undergoing editing right now. Movie is like that and unfortunately we don’t have too many good scripts around. That is just the truth. Most scripts that people send to me are scripts that I have done the type over and over again, and right now that is not what I am looking for. I am looking for a more challenging work.

Of all the works that you have done in recent times that has met up with your standard, which of them has been the most challenging for you?

I cannot really say. The issue is that every role is challenging because you are going to play what you are not, so they are all challenging. The thing is that they are good stories; they were shot well and directed well. They are not the typical commercial films. I have been working on a lot of things with my management and hopefully, they will be coming out before the end of this year.

How soon are we expecting to see a movie produced and directed by you?

It is part of what my management and I are working on.

So can you let us into it?

No I’m sorry, it is still cooking or rather it is about to cook.

Your being selective on the type of movie you do, don’t you think it will affect your purse in terms of income?

I understand where you are coming from but before I took this decision, I have thought about that. But you see in life, when there are no pains, there will not be gains. If you are trying to set a certain standard for yourself, you know you are going to lose out for a short while at this stage. But you also know what you are looking for and you know that you are going to reap the reward in future. So that is what it is. But I am very fine.

Has that not changed your personal schedule in a way, giving you more time for other things?

You’re right because with that time now, I get to rest, I get to work out and I get to do things that I want to do. Besides all of that, I have other works that I do and there are also social events and appearances. Inasmuch as I am not doing so many movies, I am still doing some work in other areas that are related to the kind of job that I do. Also, there is a new website; www.tansali.com. They approached me so I get to blog on that website like every other day. It is a social website where I get to reach out to my fans.

Learnt you are going to represent Nollywood in Malawi very soon. What about it?

Well, African Magic is celebrating its fifth anniversary in Malawi and the indigenes of Malawi felt that they will like to see a Nollywood act or a Nollywood star. I don’t know how it happened but my name came up and they contacted my management and I am going to Malawi to represent Nollywood next month.

What do you think was instrumental to your being the choice?

I don’t really know why. It just happened.

What runs through you each time you watch yourself on set?

I always feel something like: this stupid girl, why do you have to act like that? This is not the right thing to do. I am myself’s greatest critique. I like to criticize myself a lot. I don’t like watching my films when there are people there. I like to watch it alone because I feel stupid and I just feel funny. When I watch my movies alone, I see my mistakes. People might not see them but I see the mistakes and I tell myself that I can work better on them next time.

Looking back over the years when you first started out as a child acting in school and how you have made it this far, how does your parents feel about the success you have become now?

My parents are late and that is one thing that I regret in life that my parents are not here today to see me become what I am today. All my life, this is what I have always done and my parents actually supported me and that, at that time, was a bit strange for a medical family… because my dad was a medical doctor and my mom was a nursing officer. So, it was actually strange that coming from such a background, you will get all the support from them to be an actress to do my act and luckily for me, I had all the support from my siblings and from my parents and it is just so sad today that they are not alive to see me become what I am today.

As a person, how have you used your position as an actress to impact positively on the society that has given you so much?

Yes, I am doing something in that line and I am still working on some other things which are part of those things I said I was not going to talk about previously. Last year I did some charity work with Desmond Eliot in Liberia and the Malawi trip I’m about to make, I already told my manager that I will like to use the opportunity to do some charity work while I am there. So they added that to my schedule. I am going to be visiting the less privileged. I like to put that in my schedule anytime I am going for things like that.

If you have the opportunity, what are those things you will like to change about the movies being churned out in Nigeria?

The stories and professionalism in the way we work. I think at this stage, we should transcend to certain kind of movies and pull the audience along with us. I think we should just raise up the quality of our movies a bit. I don’t know why people think it is all about money. You hear people say, if we don’t have money, we can’t do Hollywood standard… nobody is saying we should do Hollywood standard but at least let the shooting be up the quality just a bit and you will be surprised and amazed at what will happen because I think for Nollywood to go forward, there is a certain class of Nigerians we should try and reach out to with the nature of our movies and we have not done that. It is only when we start shooting certain kinds of films that we will reach out to those qualities or class of Nigerians who will get interested in Nollywood and who will help Nollywood go further.

How well do you get along with your colleagues or are there some that you can not actually work with?

I am an artist first and foremost and I should be able to work with everybody but the truth is that there are some people that I will prefer to work with than others…

In terms of chemistry?

Everything.

People like?

(Laughs) So you really think I am going to start mentioning names eh? You must be joking!

Not long ago, in an interview with Uche Nancy, a costumer, she mentioned that some artistes are stubborn to work with. What do you have to say about that because she spoke about the film, Girls Hostel, which you featured in?

My argument on that set was that the girls in the story of that set, ‘Girls Cot,’ do runs which in the literary sense means that the girls have sugar daddies or Aristos as they call them on campus. If you have Aristos, you will look good; at least you should be able to afford some certain things like buying good clothes and looking good. I know that when you go to universities, there are some girls who do these things and they look good and that was my argument. If you say that these girls are doing runs, they should be able to afford some certain things or are you trying to say that even with the runs they are doing, they will still wear rags? No. The only thing is that when the President’s daughter now came, she now introduced them to a higher level of men and they started wearing designer clothes and that was how I interpreted my role, I don’t know about any other person.

In many of your movies, you smoke. Do you smoke in real life?

No, I don’t smoke.

So how is it possible or is it a film trick?

If the character has to smoke in film, then I just smoke.

Do you have any regret being an actress?

None particularly. Just that the only thing I am not so comfortable about which I have learnt to live with is that fact that you don’t have any privacy. You live your life for the public.

Thinking back over the years, is there any experience you find very memorable or remarkable that you will like to share?

The very first AMAA edition in Bayelsa State: this girl just walked up to me and started crying and she was crying and crying and everybody gathered around her and she was asked what her problem is. She said that there was a film I did called ‘All my life’ and the film touched her because she could relate to my character that she had been through a lot. That is one thing I can never forget. It was like an eye opener for me because that showed me how much these movies we do touch lives and impact knowledge on people. That was one experience I can never forget because it was such an emotional one.

When are we expecting the wedding bells to ring?

When the time is right, I will let you know.

So who is that special man making you happy at the moment?

I don’t discuss my personal life in issues like this.

So who is your kind of man?

It is still personal…

Well, but it is a generalised one?

I like a man who respects the family values, a man who respects women and is God fearing and hardworking. I like a man who knows when to play and when to work.

What do you do to relax?

I watch a lot of movies, I am a movie addict, foreign and Nigerian. I also work out a lot. I have been doing this exercise routine called Taibo, which is a mixture of Taikwando and boxing created by an American and it is really good. Once in a while, I hang out and most times, I am on the Facebook and then the new website I told you about, I blog on it.

What special things do you do to take care of your skin to give it that youthful look?

I do body treatment so I go to the spa for massages, steams, raps. I don’t joke with that because of how harsh our weather is and the light we shoot with. We shoot under very harsh condition so I don’t joke with taking care of myself by going to the spa to pamper myself. I also drink a lot of water.

3 Comments
Apr 21st

MAINE AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL DEBUTS

By Jane bond

By Tom Porter for MPBN
April 17, 2009
 
A new cultural event makes its debut tonight -- the Maine African Film Festival. The week-long festival features dozens of screenings at a variety of venues in southern Maine, including the Cumberland County Jail. The festival was prompted by a desire to explore and celebrate the growing, and on the surface unlikely, links between Maine and Africa.

"Seeds of Change: A Fresh Start" looks at the challenges faced by Maine's immigrant African farmers:  "We are Somalia, we don't know the culture of the country," says one Somalian in the film. 

Produced by Scarborough-based filmmaker Sharyn Paul Brusie, Seeds of Change examines the difficulties faced by many mostly-Somalian and Sudanese farmers as they struggle to make a living in their adopted homeland. One of them, Hawa Ibrahim, spent an entire day at the Lewiston Farmers market and made about $20 dollars. 

"I love farming, I really do, because in Africa farming is just part of life," says one person featured in the film. "It's not a business, it's part of life. So I'm not making money but I love farming," he says.

Seeds of Change premieres on Wednesday in Portland.  It's one of 27 screenings taking place in and around Maine's biggest city over the next week. The festival organizer is Kazeem Lawal, who describes himself as a Nigerian American.  "It's a way to continue to celebrate the colors of Maine. Maine is fast evolving in terms of what we know as Maine maybe 40 years ago, as compared to what Maine looks like today, and I think with all that extra color, I think it makes Maine even more special."

"In Maine it's been the African community that's been growing rapidly," says Noel Bonam, director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs for the State of Maine. While there are no firm numbers available, he estimates Maine's African population to be between 8 and 10 thousand.
"The population has more than doubled in the past five years and I think that is significant, and I think having a film festival not only offers the opportiunity for the community to celebrate their own identity but also to educate the larger community about their neighbors from Africa."

"We have documentaries, we have fiction, we have shorts, we have films that cover a wide of topics, from child soldiers, we have a film about oil from the Niger delta of Nigeria," says Lawal. "And we have just fun films, like musical kinds of films about this German guy that travelled west Africa for three years collecting old vinyl records of African funk and disco from the 70s."
 
Tom Porter: "Is there much of a pan-African film industry, or is it quite fragmented? Does it have an identity?"
Kazeem Lawal:  "It's out there."
TP:  "Because we know about Bollywood, and other parts of the world with thriving film industries."
KL:  "The third biggest film industry in the world right now is Nigerian films, called Nollywood, which is kind of interesting.  You have your Hollywood, Bollywood and then you have your Nollywood.  And I'm hoping gradually, as we build momentum with this festival, we'll be able to give Nollywood its platform here to showcase what's the big deal about Nollywood, and have films and hopefully some directors, and actors here, and music to show where that's coming from."

Funded with help local businesses, the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Humanities Council, the festival is not just showing movies; some screenings will pave the way for panel discussions on a variety of topics.

Venues range from the Children's Museum of Portland to the Cumberland County Jail, where inmates will get the chance to watch and then discuss three movies about crime and redemption. On Wednesday night, meanwhile, there'll be a public discussion on what it means to be African in Maine.

For more information on the Maine African Film Festival, go to TMAFF.ORG

0 Comments
Apr 20th

SEX ON SCREEN - MY BODY MOVES

By Jane bond
By Funke Egbemode & Samuel Olatunji
Sunday, April 19, 2009 • www.sunnewsonline.com

She has a to-die-for figure even after four children, a face to match, talent that stands out in the Nollywood crowd and a marriage that has loads of made-in-heaven trimmings.  She was the 12-year-old girl who grew up in a hurry when her father suddenly died and had to resort to a moneylender to keep her brothers in school. She was also the schoolgirl who watched victims of Kaduna religious crisis stabbed and slaughtered as they scrambled to scale her school walls into safety while helping to deliver babies of female refugees when she hardly knew what to do. Try and imagine this same girl being thoroughly whipped by her mother for coming home a minute after 5pm which was her curfew time. Do those descriptions sound like Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde? Well, she is the actress who has lived all these parts not in her movie world but in her real life in addition to singing for armed robbers and listening to their eerie confession, and has turned it all into a money-spinning venture.



The ‘A’ Class act dropped by our corporate office and told us things we are sure you haven’t heard and we also learnt a few things from her apart from tips on how to invest in real estate. For instance, if you have had to speak up for yourself since age 12 and watch out for three younger ones and a widowed mother, bullies do not easily cow you. The journey has been long, very long, from the days she sold the family television set to pay urgent family bills to getting married to a pilot in an aircraft 20,000 feet above sea level. It is a no-holds barred story, another promise kept from Sunday Sun

I got into acting while waiting for my JAMB result.
When I left school in 1994, I was waiting for my JAMB result, and I had to wait for about nine months. A friend of mine, Akorede, who was a model told my mum that instead of wasting time at home I should join him in the modeling thing and my mum consented. That was how I started with entertainment. I was going for auditions. It was during one of those auditions that a lady told me about another audition and she asked if I’ll like to go. I said OK. I accompanied her for the movie audition and that was the movie, Nneka Part 2.

She went for the audition but didn’t get the part. She was quite sad and then she said there were still other auditions and would I like to go? I said no, but she said it was not like they would ask for money. I have nothing to lose. So I went and I got the part. That was my first contact with acting in movies. By the time I heard of the following audition, I was bold enough to go for it. That was how I started.

My widowed mother was so scared I would get pregnant before I was 16 and she used to beat me silly if I came home later than 5pm which was my curfew time. I remember those days when I would finish acting and go back home and I’d be beaten silly. My mum was a disciplinarian and there was this belief that if you are into acting, singing, entertainment you have to be wayward. So, when you mention going for audition for a movie, my mum would say “Acting!”. You didn’t even say you want to go into singing or any such area. My mum just couldn’t understand the difference. She was just being careful and protective.

My dad died when I was twelve and there’s a thing with your dad dying early. As a widow there was so much pressure on her. I’m the only girl and the first child and I understood the pressure on her. Everybody was talking and saying that I was going to become wayward and get pregnant. They told her to her face that they knew I was going to get pregnant before I was sixteen. She was really scared and when all those things were happening it was like I was doing exactly the things they said was going to happen.

Her response was to be really hard on me to prevent me from getting spoilt. I don’t know what propelled me to go on despite my mum’s disciplines because one, they weren’t paying me well in the movies; two, I wasn’t that interested in acting then, and three, there was nothing really to look forward to in terms of success models then. There was no fame then because the only famous people then were the ones on TV. Even those that were on TV then weren’t so admired. I still don’t understand what really kept me going. It had to be God or maybe because I didn’t have a lot of things to do. There was no money in it for me, there was no fame and on top of it I got beaten.

I was always coming home late, there’s no way you can do this job and still be in control of your time. No matter how much you try something is going to hold you back. I used to go home late I had a curfew of five o clock set by my mum, which I thought was unreasonable. Then, I still didn’t get home until nine or ten o clock and there was no GSM to call.

There are so many producers in this country today that will tell you they’ve met Omotola’s mum. Kingsley Ogoro, Emeka Ossai, Zeb Ejiro, Fred Amata, who has not seen my mum? Who? She never came on set. They had to go and meet her in the house to explain to her why they want to use me, and that they’d take care of me and when they were going to bring me back home. Everybody that had used me during that time had to go to her, all of them had to go to her. She had to know you personally, you have to give her your house address and everything about you. It was terrible I was so embarrassed.

In the initial days, you were into movies more like for the love of it and anybody who got on any pedestal at that time was purely on merit. Nollywood was not as wild as it is now. There was not much of the issue of sexual harassment then. I think Nollywood was decent then. It wasn’t as wild as now. Most of the people I met then were like father figures. It was even worse when they got to know your family. They felt they had to watch out for you. Sometimes when I was loitering around Zeb Ejiro’s office then he would shout and order me home and I’d have to immediately take a bus and go home. We weren’t that many, it was a small world. Everybody knew everybody. There wasn’t too much money in the game so nobody was trying so hard to impress anybody. Most of us used to come around in slippers (laughs) and shorts. We were all family and you wouldn’t even find anybody to attract you for affairs then, unlike now when you look at another colleague and he’s all trushed up, rich, clean.

I was still a virgin when I got married.
Given my mum’s stern attitude, it is natural to think I didn’t date anybody before I got married. But, that’s not the case. I had boyfriends before I met my husband but it’s not something too deep as people may think nowadays. You just go out and have lunch together and all the rest of it. As for deep my affairs went before I met my husband, it is just to say that I got married as a virgin, so that answers the rest of the question.

Everybody already knew my husband in the family before I got married to him and he was just like one of those friends. We actually got to know his elder sister before him because he didn’t live here and when he started coming around it was like an extension of the family friend, though my mum was always suspecting that that he had something up his sleeves. She was like hmnnnnnnnnn(laughs) but my husband is a very humble and likeable guy. I think she just naturally fell in love with him and we became like family. And I guess she knew when something started between us but she was doing as if she didn’t want to know what she didn’t want to know! She didn’t want to hear any story.

When I was 18, I felt I was already an adult. We told her what we wanted to do. She found it very difficult because she felt that this is not America, this is Nigeria, nobody sees you as an adult at 18. She thought I should finish my education at the higher institution before getting married. She knew the guy was good and didn’t want me to lose him. She knew the guy would take care of me but because she was thinking of my dad’s family, she didn’t want things to go wrong and get blamed.

Growing Up Without A Father
I wish I don’t have to answer this question. My father died when I was 12. My younger brother was four while the one after him was just two years old. My mum did not see it coming because my father was so full of life. It was my father’s club Ekimomi Social Club that paid my school fees throughout my secondary school. He was working at Ikoyi Club. I remembered that lots of meetings were done after he passed on so that we can keep up with our lifestyle. I was attending Chrisland, (an elite private school in Lagos) and that was not a cheap school. My mum was like a full time housewife though she had a store where she was selling drinks. Lots of people were telling her about all sorts and incisions were made on our bodies to keep away evil. You can see the one they put on my chest. It was a very terrible period.

The most interesting thing was that everybody would be with you within a few weeks when the incident happened and all of a sudden everybody leaves. It is the worst feeling in the world because you feel confused and alone. That was where I started developing independence. I had two options at that time, it was either I went down the drain or up the ladder. I did a lot crying in private but I never cried in front of my mother. She would cry and I was always telling her everything would be alright. But anytime I left her for my room, I would cry. My brothers had to move to another school because Chrisland was too expensive and by then I had gained admission into Command Secondary School, Kaduna. My mum had to struggle. There were times when we did not have food to eat.

I went to a money lender, sold our TV and Video sets to pay my brother’s school fees. I tried to keep busy and even though my mum was not in approval of what I was doing it was helping. The modeling and acting helped. And I’ve always been a shrewd person. Though my mum was not willing to take the money I was making but there was no where else money was coming from. I remembered a particular experience. There was this particular actor that was called Black. I used to go to Zeb Ejiro’s office and he knew about my struggles. My brother’s school fees was due and there was no money.

The people that were supposed to pay couldn’t come up with the money. I was at Zeb’s office crying when the Black guy saw me and asked what the problem was. I told him and he promised to help. He took me to one man who did Visa for people to travel out. I met lots of people in the man’s sitting room seeking help. When we met him he asked what my problem was and everybody’s attention shifted to me. I just started crying considering the background I came from. He loaned me some money and I was supposed to pay the Black guy the money from a job I did. Unfortunately, they didn’t pay me on time. The Black guy turned my life into a living misery. It got to a point where I had to sell personal effects from my house. I had to sell our TV and video to pay him which were the only consolation my younger brothers had. My mother cried during that period and it was then that my mother told me never to borrow money again. Yet, I didn’t take it against Black because he was there for me when I needed help. It got to a point where he was threatening my life because the guy was threatening his too. That was the peak of our suffering.

Mortal Inheritance was my fifth movie but it shot me into limelight
A lot of people thought Mortal Inheritance is my first movie because it shot me into limelight. It was officially my fifth but it came out as my fourth, coming out before Abused. Then, unlike now, you first have to be a local star in the movie circle before you’ll now be projected to the world. There was still a measure of formality then unlike now where you come from nowhere, do one movie and you’ll start feeling like a star and they start calling you top actress. In those days you came on set and you see the people that are older than you in the industry and you have to show them respect because you know that these same people are the ones that would recommend you. I was one of the first to earn N150,000 per movie The defining period for Nollywood came with Onome and Rattlesnake in 1995/1996. People started turning to it.

I was one of the people that started earning good money like N150,000, N200,000 but before that time it was just between N30,000—N70,000. And even the first time, they were telling me I was overpaid and the guy is still owing me N5000 (laughs). That was when the traders started trading with the Nigerian movie industry and later became marketers. It was that period that they came in that it now moved into home video the way it is now. Stories were very balanced then, not written to project any particular region but towards 1997 things changed.

I don’t blame them (the Igbos) for doing what they did, naturally I think you will want to project where you are from. I don’t think the Igbos necessarily buy more movies. Till date, the people that still goes to the theater to watch cinemas are Yorubas. I don’t think Igbos are still buying more movies than Yorubas but I think the bone of contention is that people think they should have been doing the movies in Igbo language so that we’ll know that they are doing Igbo movies. A filmmaker will not do a film based on a belief but because they were not film makers they projected their belief and I don’t blame them. The Igbos took over Nollywood because they are better businessmen while people like the late Hubert Ogunde made great, in-depth pictures just for the love of the arts. The theater started in the west with the likes of Hubert Ogunde but somehow the Igbos seems to have taken over especially when you are talking about home videos not cinema. I think it’s because they are business men. When Hubert Ogunde and the rest of them started it wasn’t because of business it was for the love of the game. I’ve watched some of these movies that were done back in those days and you could see the depth of art and you could tell that most of these people weren’t paid in millions but they enjoyed what they were doing, pictures that could live to any standard. These days a lot of people are more interested in doing movies for the gains. The first Igbo people that joined then were traders but now we have people who have transcended from traders to producers and marketers but in the beginning they just came in as business men.

I once heard that there was a gang-up to get me out of Nollywood because I was getting too powerful for an outsider. When I started in the movie industry, we had a lot of independent producers then who just wanted to work. You didn’t have to be Igbo, Hausa ,Yoruba then to be in Nollywood. We had people from every tribe in Nollywood but as time went on I remember a notable producer whom I don’t want to name but I’m sure if he’s reading this interview he’ll know I’m talking about him and he’ll probably be laughing. He called me and sat me down because he was like a godfather to me. He said you are a very bright act but there is a gang-up against you and you really have to be careful because some people have vowed to get you out of Nollywood. And I said what did they say I did wrong? He said because I’m not from their place and I’m becoming too powerful as an outsider. Actually, there were two of us that he talked about. The other person was a lead actor and I don’t want to mention his name as well. He is also not Igbo. They said both of us were becoming too powerful and we were outsiders and that there was a gang up to move us out of Nollywood.

He was really scared because the people that they were talking about were powerful. I laughed and said I was not going to bow at anybody’s feet just to win their admiration or anything. I believe I got to where I am on merit and by God’s grace I believe those two things should sustain me and if they don’t I’ll just fall back to business and in the mean time I have a man taking care of me so I won’t suffer. I remember him bursting out laughing and saying he should be discussing with the guy and not me. After that discussion I looked out for the signs of the gang-up. Maybe they came but I didn’t notice. Most of the people that have employed me are actually Igbos. To me there is no balance in that story. Maybe it happened and I didn’t notice, maybe people tried and they gave up or maybe they are still trying.

I don’t know what they mean by I was getting powerful but I think if you comport yourself in a certain way in an industry that was beginning to employ a lot of people with many suffering from poverty syndrome and people talk a lot to curry favour and some people do other things to get work and stuff. When you don’t fall into those categories, don’t greet anybody specially or call them any special name, you don’t attend their naming ceremony if you don’t feel obliged to so that they can count you worthy; at that point they start to feel who the hell do you think you are. Maybe when they meet with their friends they talk about it and end up saying ‘but we need am sha’. Yeas, I’ve heard those things like producers telling people to change to Igbo names. I don’t think anybody will risk telling me that to my face because they know that I might talk. I might say we have talked about it because we joke about it. People say I look like an Igbo girl. They gave me names like Ugonma. Instead of calling me Omotola they call me Ugonma in the movies. I don’t have any problems with it because my husband is half Igbo. I don’t see it as a slight on my person but as a continuation of who I am. I understand also that people think I’m Igbo because when I went to the market in those days people used to speak Igbo to me.

Top actors and actresses were banned to drive down our fees and pave way for new actors and actresses. Actually before the one-year ban happened I was told it was going to happen. There were so many things some of us heard and then when it happened there were so many other things that you now saw on the news and we were like are they trying to confuse us. The people that we heard were going to be banned were a certain kind of people (I don’t want to say more than that) and then we felt if it was because of this why is this person there or what am I doing there. It was one event that was confusing in a lot of ways. What we arrived at as the reason is that they were probably doing it to push down our fees.

Some people were not from a particular region, also that they wanted to launch some new faces into the industry at a cheaper cost. Obviously, they’d been struggling to do it because of us. There were some personal things also like somebody insulted one person, also that some people came on set with big cars. That was the most ridiculous of it all, and that some people tell the producers to pay their fees into their accounts. But we’ve come to agree that the reason was simply because of the pay because most of the people on that list are the highest earners.

I think initially it worked because they had to bring up a lot of propaganda to justify their actions and to get the whole public to lose respect for us. Things like Omotola is a snob, she’s very troublesome on set and people are like why is she like that now? There were all kinds of rumours about those on that list just to get us on the wrong side of public opinion and tilt goodwill towards the new person that they were bringing. Even journalists helped them hype it a bit but after a while the whole thing just died down.

I invest in real estate
I’m comfortable. I invest. I’m a business woman even before the so called boom in Nollywood. I was making money from other things. The only thing I don’t do is buy and sell because I feel I’m not cut out for that. I don’t think I have the temperament for that. I’ll lose money. I think a lot of us have seen what happens all over the world and are wise. We don’t want to end up being famous and then ending up in poverty. If you are from my generation of actors and that happens to you then they are following you from the village because you should have known better. I think a lot of my colleagues are money-wise.

READ ENTIRE INTERVIEW at  www.sunnewsonline.com
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Apr 20th

Big stars gang up against AMAA

By Jane bond
By Samuel Olatunji - www.sunnewsonline.com •The stars need to get their acts together — Shuaibu Hussein, Head, Screener College, AMAA Published Sunday, April 19, 2009

Once upon a time, venue of Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) usually served as meeting point for entertainment stars across the spectrum of Nollywood and beyond. It is not uncommon to see the likes of Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, Stella Damasus-Nzeribe, Omotola, Rita Dominic, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Uche Jombo, Ini Edo, Mercy Johnson, Jim Iyke and the likes at AMAA, but this year witnessed a reversal in fortune as these big stars kept away from the Glover Hall at Bayelsa State, the venue of the award.

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Susan Peters, Uche Jombo & Rita Dominic at Thelma Okoduwa's wedding

Findings by Showbiz Now reveals that the stars decided to stay away to protest some certain grievances they have against AMAA and its organisers. It would be recalled that two weeks ago, we reported and quoted star actor, Emeka Ike, saying he has some grudges with AMAA. And from what played out last week at the UBA/AMAA, it appears he is not the only one that has grudges.

Though no official meeting was held against AMAA, the stars in solidarity with one another decided to stay away from the event. For instance, Funke Akindele and Mercy Johnson, both award winners, were not present to receive their awards. Rita Dominic, Genevieve Nnaji, Uche Jombo, Susan Peters were all at Thelma Okodua’s wedding at Lekki, Lagos where Rita was the bride of honour. Eucharia Anunobi was not there, Ini Edo was on set while Omotola was simply at home. Ramsey Nouah was on set of Kunle Afolayan’s set and Kunle himself whom many see as AMAA’s baby was not there.

Ramsey Figurine.jpg
Ramsey cruising to set of Kunle Afolayan's Figurine 

These stars Stephanie Okereke (who refused to speak about the award when we spoke to her despite always being enthusiastic about it in the past), Chinedu Ikedieze, Kate Henshaw, Fred Amata, Patrick Doyle were the few handful stars that made it to the event. Though the English genre stars were absent, the Yoruba stars took over and they were heavily represented by Femi Brainard, Doris Simon, Eniola Badmus (Gbogbo Bigz gal), Tunde Kelani and a few others.

One star actress who spoke to us on condition that we keep her name out of print told us that AMAA treats stars as if they are not stars. “Can you imagine an award ceremony that has to do with actors and actresses and they have to sit with the audience as spectators? A colleague of mine that called them for the sitting arrangement at the dinner they had in Lagos was told bluntly that there was no special sitting arrangement for stars. If they want us to show loyalty to the award, they should treat us like stars that we are.”

Another actor who also prefers anonymity said he was not at AMAA because the whole concept was designed to make the organisers rich and nothing is added or given back to the industry. “What do I stand to gain by attending AMAA?”, he asked us when we asked him about his absence at AMAA. I will not only waste my time and energy going there, I would have to leave behind things that would fetch me money and add values to my life. In other parts of the world, award organisers give incentives to make stars want to come, but here, UBA/AMAA goes about as if it is doing us one huge favour by inviting us.”
One top producer queries AMAA for asking filmmakers to submit entries for the awards. “Why should filmmakers submit entries for the award? I expect AMAA, as the foremost award body in Nigeria, to have people who scout for movies and individuals that deserve entries.” Mildreb Okwo, producer of 30 Days who agreed to be quoted told us on record that for AMAA to continue to hold the interest of top stars, it must get more creative in the way it invites and treats the stars. “I don’t think any big star purposely gang up against AMAA as you said.

The truth is, no matter how big you get or how relevant an event is, you must find innovative ways to bring the stars to your event. You must create a platform that will make them not want to miss it. As big as Oscars has gotten, they still go out marketing to the actors. When stars go the Oscars, they are given all types of gifts that worth millions. I know we are not Hollywood, but you must find a way to make it worth people’s time. As it is, Nollywood hardly work now and you want those that are working to leave their job and go to Bayelsa.

Why should they be committed to you? That is the question every business person must ask. The days of thinking that you ‘it’ and you can get what you want are gone. This is for everybody. You can see the way Governor Fashola goes about with his consultation. Don’t think once you do something everybody must rush it. They should have reason to want to go to your event. You must also infuse creativity into the way you invite the people. We should stop referring to the actors as ‘these people’, they are stars.

They are brand. Samuel, you are also a brand, there are things we don’t expect from you. As brands, you must find a way of getting them to the event. It is ridiculous to do the same thing year-in year-out and keep people interested. Funke Akindele is one of the hottest stars right now. Why should she leave what she is doing and fly to attend your award? You must motivate her. Whatever you do to get these people there, you must do it. You must have people who market the award to them.” Another actor wondered why the organisers stop giving monetary rewards to winners. “if they get the kind of money we heard they are getting, there is nothing bad if they give monetary reward.”

However, head of screeners College of AMAA Mr Shuaibu Hussan, disagrees. “AMAA is not just a Nigerian affairs, it is an African thing. If some people did not respond to an invitation , it does not mean there is a gang up. I don’t know where you got this from. Invitation cards were sent to people and none of them wrote to say they were ganging up. If they did not respond, that means they have other things they are doing. If you were at AMAA, you will know that the industry was well represented. If people who have private engagements did not make the event, it does not mean there is a gang up against AMAA.  AMAA is not a Nigerian thing, it is an African thing.”

When we pressed further that something must have gone wrong for the very big stars to be absent from the event, he requested that we read out names of those that were absent and we did. Responding, Shuaibu says the big stars need to be more professional. “Some of these stars need to be more professional in the way they handle their things. Some of them don’t even have addresses. There are some that you are talking about that don’t have functioning email addresses. Some of them expect you to go and drop invitation cards for them at Ojez. Some of them don’t have functioning offices.

Some of them don’t even know AGN’s secretariat. We called some people and they asked us to drop their cards at Ojez. Is that supposed to be a greenroom for artistes? For instance, Genevieve that you are talking about, I have about six numbers that are supposed to be hers. Even trying to get to her as a journalist has been harrowing, not to talk of somebody that is organising an event. So, what are we talking about? If AMAA invites you and they ask you to respond and you don’t because you are a star, will they now go to NTA and announce that we are looking for so and so?

We have people that are not part of the event that called and asked on how to be part of it while major players can’t even send their personal assistants. They need to be more professional. Call them to send a media kit on themselves and you will be dazed that they don’t have it. On a personal level, I’ve tried to get them for festivals abroad and it’s been difficult. I’m not saying AMAA is perfect, but these people are not organised. There is no star that came to the event that was not well treated. I don’t think anybody will fault the AMAA awards itself, you may fault the logistics, particularly because of high profile of jury.

On Emeka Ike, Shuaibu says whatever view he expressed is his own opinion. He faulted him on claim that AMAA has not developed the industry. “The movie, Stronger than Pain that won last year has been to festivals around the world courtesy of recommendation from AMAA. Kate Henshaw has participated in some international events courtesy of winning. That is not the only film. Whitewaters has travelled to festivals courtesy of AMAA. Look at Irapada by Kunle Afolayan, it has been to festivals around the world, courtesy of AMAA. Again, the AMAA Academy organises training for people in the industry.

The members of the jury participate at festivals around the world and if they see good movies at AMAA, they are quick in making recommendations to other festivals. I know that Kenyan movies and Reloaded have gotten invitations to participate in festivals around the world, courtesy of their participation at AMAA. Some people should not rubbish AMAA because they’ve not won it before.”
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Apr 19th

If your marriage is quiet, you must ignite a crisis and then manage it – Dele Alake

By Jane bond
An interesting interview for a Sunday morning!!!
By ANNA OKON
www.punchontheweb.com
Published: Sunday, 19 Apr 2009

Dele Alake’s name is well known in Nigeria’s media and political circles. A former editor of the defunct National Concord, he also served as the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State during the administration of Senator Bola Tinubu. He is currently the chief executive officer of Continental Broadcasting Service. He reveals to ANNA OKON his other side Some people know you as a print journalist… Yes, but I started my journalism in electronics. I served in the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation, Abeokuta. I was attached to the administration department to cover the management meetings as the assistant secretary while participating in the current affairs news programme, Meet the Press. I also headed the current affairs unit of Radio Lagos until 1980 when we started the Lagos State Television. In 1985, the late MKO Abiola invited Ebenezer Babatope and myself to join the National Concord editorial board. We were members of the editorial board till May 1989 when I was appointed the editor of Sunday Concord, a position I held until 1994. And in late 1995, I was appointed editor of the National Concord. So I spent 10 years as an editor.

Dele Alake
Dele Alake

As a journalist, you were critical of the policies of government. Did your views change when you joined the government?

There is no contradiction at all between my actions as a journalist and my actions as a commissioner in the government because on both occasions, I was operating from a progressive liberal and ideological standpoint. When I was an active journalist, I was not just attacking those in government for the sake of attacking; I was writing based on principles and based on empirical verification of the issues at stake. As the editor of a newspaper published by the winner of the June 12 election, I was involved deeply in the struggle to actualise the mandate and to restore democracy to Nigeria.

I was in the vanguard of those against the military. I was offered appointment by the military to serve at the state level twice but I declined politely. The reasons I gave on both occasions was that I was one of those actively involved in trying to flush out the military from our political system. It would have been illogical for me to serve the military in any capacity.

How did you meet your wife and what was the attraction?

My wife came in to the university while I was in my last year. We spent one year together in school and courted for about six or seven years before we got married.

What made the courtship last that long?

I left her and went for my youth service, finished service and was working while she remained in the school. So by the time she finished school and went for service, I went back for my master’s and I did my master’s before we settled down.

How did you people stick together for that long without any hitches?

We were compatible. She is just my type of woman; she is very serene, very cool and understanding and she understands me. Only a woman who understands me could have lived with me for the last 25 years. My schedule is very flexible. I have never worked in my life in a nine to five kind of job. I have always been in the media; and in the media there are no public holidays, you work round the clock.

Does she work?

She worked for a few years in a brokerage firm after her youth service and then stopped when we started the family. During our formative years, when my father went out to work, my mother was always around to nurture us. The formative years are years when the children are most impressionable and those are the times when the right core values can be inculcated into them, the parents have to be around to do this. In any case, I and the kids are more than enough work for her.

How many children would you recommend for a family in view of the present economic meltdown?

It depends on the purchasing power of the family. There is no hard and fast rule: if a man is a billionaire, I would not recommend one kid for him. But if a man is a struggling man, then I would advise him to have only one or two. We are blessed with four children: three boys and one girl. The important point is that she is always there to nurture, mentor and teach them. She does everything; she chooses everything I wear. I just go into the bathroom and when I come out, my clothes are laid out on the bed. She does all my shopping because I don’t know how to shop.

Have you never quarrelled or argued over anything?

Of course we argue. How can you live together for 25 years without arguing? That would not be a perfect or normal relationship. Even if there is no basis for argument, if it is too quiet, you must ignite one and then manage it (laughter).

What are the issues that you may not agree on?

There is nothing we cannot agree on; I am very argumentative by nature. My father read history and philosophy, and even as a toddler, I grew up to know him as very argumentative man. I chose journalism as a profession because it gives me the latitude to argue. I cannot work with anybody I cannot argue with because we must argue to arrive at logical deductions and conclusion so as to make progress. That is why I did not join the military because I do not like their command and obey structure. You cannot command me to go and jump in the lake and expect me to obey that. I must question your command. I must reason with you, you must convince me about the logicality of your command.

So she can question you?

Yes, of course she could and she does. Even my kids question me and we argue. This morning my little boy questioned me and we argued for more than half an hour on an issue and at the end of the day he saw my point. That is the way the society can make progress; not that somebody just issues out orders and everybody obeys without question. I and my wife sit down and argue on issues. Sometimes when I am very vehement, she shuts me up by saying, ‘Look, you are not on television o! I am not one of the political audience you are trying to convince.’

You stopped her from working, how does she get the money to keep the home? Do you operate a joint account?

We don’t operate a joint account. She has her own account. The fact that I stopped her from working officially does not mean she is not doing other things like buying and selling.

Would you advise couples to operate joint accounts?

I can support it. It depends on the preferences of individual couples. We are all different: what is okay by you may not be okay by the next person. It does not necessarily mean that what is okay by the next person is wrong. It just means that maybe you don’t prefer it. That is why we have choices. If my wife insists on having a joint account, so be it. I don’t have issues with that because my money is supposed to be hers.

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