tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67992049011199242222024-03-18T02:25:17.892-07:00The Guardian Life MagazineThe entertainment and fashion supplement of The Guardian, Lagos. Established October 2005. The primary focus of the well-written journal is to provide a forum for young people, celebrating role models and good ideas. Our cover stories, which are mostly about "unknown" or "little-known" Nigerians, have influenced millions of Nigerians, and many of those who have appeared on these covers have gone on to win prestigious awards...The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.comBlogger843125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-91568236969630526972010-05-10T04:48:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:51:33.632-07:00Cover Edition 230, March 28 - April 3<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27Lp3musXxRT_aLKYnHUgRogXBdjyLo3WFWl8rZ4_UVVvo7iSnSUWyOnAXIYgn_vI8agYCdPGJdlwEVY7fmJwHLYBAQ4KgCUXouq2FfDaDykOd1iiq2FSIo0SD6fc4XjQWkGxDhtlECQ/s1600/cover-230.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27Lp3musXxRT_aLKYnHUgRogXBdjyLo3WFWl8rZ4_UVVvo7iSnSUWyOnAXIYgn_vI8agYCdPGJdlwEVY7fmJwHLYBAQ4KgCUXouq2FfDaDykOd1iiq2FSIo0SD6fc4XjQWkGxDhtlECQ/s400/cover-230.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469607559382081826" border="0" /></a>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-47897614717375051152010-05-10T04:46:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:48:38.912-07:00The colours of ‘Mr. President’<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">HOW did Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, affect our affections that we have secretly adopted his style and colour? Open any paper and there he is, welcoming everybody to his style.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Mr. ‘President’ has managed to entice everybody into his corner with his rich Ijaw regalia, without any crinkled look of a worried man, even though the load on his head is very heavy — economy, dilapidated infrastructure, lack of social amenities, crisis upon crisis, crises, so to say.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> There’s a popular saying that he has patience, no pun intended, Patience is his wife’s name, and so he has been able to mark himself out as a man of style and colour.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Accessories and ornament complete an outfit and help to personalize a person’s look. For the acting president, it’s the jewel-encrusted buttons on his long robes, which have made dramatic statements for him.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Writing in Smashin’ fashion, thewashingtonmistress.com, the acting president’s style was described as vertical. The fine striped shirt (by Rocawear) reveals his sense of style. “Everyone knows stripes are the way to go, but how often do you see them rocked in such vertical proportions! Yes, the black sewed-down shirt with white vertical stripes might be a fashion sin for most, but not for Goodluck Jonathan. In fact it only complements his gold string…thing…with…circular things on it…”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The hat is an essential part of his fashion ensemble! The solid black Fedora, a low, soft felt hat with a curled brim and the crown creased lengthwise, never leaves his head is a statement all on its own.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> So the fedora, like his striped shirt, has helped him appear hip, hot, and intimidating, no matter what anybody says.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-15589288948650475242010-05-10T04:40:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:46:04.758-07:00I am non-conformist’<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTG5b29K6cEM0Xm05XtnDEcuxoL92IxhfsvL2PVV3OccemPs0Ol0-MyGcZO6r-No1Qxnd3ouEBtPhHN4AgiF07h2_jF9wBatuUs-SyFk4pHt-_23un2ywBZOgH-z1DDyxWHCt-Czu4jD0/s1600/celeb.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTG5b29K6cEM0Xm05XtnDEcuxoL92IxhfsvL2PVV3OccemPs0Ol0-MyGcZO6r-No1Qxnd3ouEBtPhHN4AgiF07h2_jF9wBatuUs-SyFk4pHt-_23un2ywBZOgH-z1DDyxWHCt-Czu4jD0/s320/celeb.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469605474051494098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">HIS love and passion for music made him set up the — Toyin and Friends, a musical group , when he came back from the United States in 2005. Born on January 11, some decades ago, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Toyin Adebola</span>, who is from Ogun State, had his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Gwammaja, and ended up at the Government Technical College, Wudil, Kano. His tertiary education was at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he read technical education. The Chief Executive Officer of Lakeside Energy Limited, who started his musical career as a drummer in 1990, recently organised the Toyin and Friends concert. Themed Worship Unscripted, it featured a lot of gospel artists, including Cohbhams. He tells <span style="font-weight: bold;">DAMILOLA ADEKOYA</span> what fashion means to him.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Family background:</span> I’m from a polygamous home. I’m the first born of my father. My father worked and retired as a staff of the Ministry of Education, Kano and my mother worked with The Nigerian Aviation Company (NACO), also in Kano until she retired about two years ago.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Fashion:</span> It has different interpretations depending on who is creating it, but for me, I think fashion is an expression of who you are, well expressed in what you are wearing. I don’t go with what’s in vogue, for what is in vogue for me is what I am comfortable with!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Style of dressing:</span> English; a shirt and a tie, that’s me! But occasionally, I do some native stuff.<br /><br />Uniqueness of style: Everything about me is basically different. My carriage stands me out. I also hate conforming to what’s in vogue.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite colour:</span> I love brilliant colours, to be precise. I like black and red. I also like white and purple because they are sweet and strong. I love them combined not specific.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite piece of clothing:</span> A nice shirt and trouser.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Stylish icon(s):</span> Maxwell, he dresses so beautifully. Most times, he’s always on a nice shirt on trousers with jacket. When you see him, one has no choice but to love and respect him.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Role model(s):</span> Rev. Sam Adeyemi, he is my ultimate role model and then musically, it’s Fred Hammond.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite food:</span> Vegetable Salad.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite designer(s): </span> Base London, because they are not the regular designers. They have very unique designs of Wristwatches and Shoes and I love them because they are not very popular.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Most expensive item:</span> My house!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Most cherished possession: </span> God.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Describe yourself in three words:</span> Passionate, powerful and simple.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Turn on:</span> When everything is just in order<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Turn off:</span> Disorderliness.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Happiest moment(s):</span> When I got a job in Conoil because I waited almost 15 years for that.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Embarrassing moment(s):</span> When my visa to United States was turned down the second time.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite food:</span> Vegetable Salad.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Favourite designer(s): </span> Base London, because they are not the regular designers. They have very unique designs of Wristwatches and Shoes and I love them because they are not very popular.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Philosophy of life:</span> Life is like one’s best currency. It’s ones most valuable asset, so spend it wisely, do not waste time and be as productive as you can.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">If you were given an opportunity to change something in Nigeria, what would it be?</span> Our mindset, it is terrible!The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-70123622624319527002010-05-10T04:37:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:40:33.411-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jtwTLGhYj6gfUtunBMnKVtbeYWWbAJdATbf3kfqlZWDivvbMj4u__EkZ5cq1zGw-6LDuqI8THzsJd_FqWxxvu7p2JuDeyBohSxS4W0zW0rkhBw4pimS8lJbGcTx9PJC1KtnJyJJ7Omw/s1600/Indoor-Plants-27-3-10.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jtwTLGhYj6gfUtunBMnKVtbeYWWbAJdATbf3kfqlZWDivvbMj4u__EkZ5cq1zGw-6LDuqI8THzsJd_FqWxxvu7p2JuDeyBohSxS4W0zW0rkhBw4pimS8lJbGcTx9PJC1KtnJyJJ7Omw/s320/Indoor-Plants-27-3-10.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469604550728699554" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY EKWY P. UZOANYA</span><br />GROWING plants indoors is one way to make a space feel inviting and warm. This is normally done in containers. This type of gardening offers flexibility for people with limited garden space or lack of time for elaborate gardening outdoors. Plants can be attractive decoration that add a softness of line and provide a bit of nature indoors.<br /> Bringing the plant indoors may mean that the ideal location of a plant for decoration may not be the ideal spot for plant growth. This therefore means that inadequate lighting may be a problem that the gardener may be confronted with. With more and more number of people working outside the home for long hours, there may be little sunlight penetrating through the window or exposure of the plants to sunlight if not taken outside.<br /> At some periods like the rainy season, there may be a stretch of humid days during which time there is absence of sunlight. Supplementary lighting through electricity can go a long way for the plants. Electricity is a way to provide light for plants that do not receive adequate natural light.<br /> Flourescent tubes are good sources of artificial light available for plants in the home. Cool-white fluorescent tubes are more desirable. Fluorescent tubes come in different shapes and sizes such as u-shape, circular, square or straight.<br /> Avoid incandescent light bulbs because they are not particularly good for this purpose. They are a good source of red rays but a poor source of blue. The heat they give out is too much for most plants. But if they must be used, they should be located away from the plants, thereby reducing the intensity of the heat the pants receive.<br />For indoor plants, a large variety of containers are available. Plant should be done in tubs, pots, crocks, sacks, bowls and wooden boxes that have good drainage.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-13363103485189211812010-05-10T04:31:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:36:45.114-07:00Charly Boy... Oh Gawd!!!! I Am Pissed Off...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84wGVUJfqyEk1aBEOLicAzp5d4cGQeyx8GBx0E3y_38l3pKhJBnEg1Ol9hKB8xF2Sob8k3Wu6b242Ys3uJaclxSibDGkWSYfYvJ26P2KpGH4B196ePnfREdz9OEohzsgzFLTXmcW0-OI/s1600/Area-fada3.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84wGVUJfqyEk1aBEOLicAzp5d4cGQeyx8GBx0E3y_38l3pKhJBnEg1Ol9hKB8xF2Sob8k3Wu6b242Ys3uJaclxSibDGkWSYfYvJ26P2KpGH4B196ePnfREdz9OEohzsgzFLTXmcW0-OI/s320/Area-fada3.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469602893507491026" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Recently, maverick <span style="font-weight: bold;">Charly Boy</span> embarked on his six-year old dream of publishing. His magazine Charly Boy is in its third edition come April 2010; and the multi-skilled artiste told <span style="font-weight: bold;">Anote Ajeluorou</span> recntly in Lagos that th new project is all in the process of consolidating the Charly Boy Brand. Lagos. Excerpts:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How has the experience as a publisher been?</span> <br />It’s been most profound. Like I always say, we will continue to be students in the school in life as we indulge in different experiences, and because of the people who have come before, people like Kunle Bakare, Mayor Akinpelu, Seye (Kehinde); because of their tenacity, I’m inspired. And, I have always known one thing: no matter how a thing might appear, no matter the stumbling blocks, the obstacles you encounter, that if you are consistent, you will definitely come out tops.<br /> So it’s been challenging; the magazine or publishing business is not a child’s play but like you know, I have always been somebody that will never run away from challenges. I’m facing it squarely; in fact, a lot of people who have seen the magazine get back to me to say it’s a good start. And if it’s a good start, it can also get better. They like the quality, and they like the direction. What is left is by my staying power and how I approach matters.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What exactly is the direction?</span><br /> Well, it’s geared towards the upwardly mobile, young Nigerians; for the first time, it’s not a masses thing I’m doing. It’s for those between the age range of 18 and 40. The magazine represents all the values that the brand Charly Boy stands for —doggedness, consistency, humble beginning.<br /> It doesn’t matter what background you are coming from, whether it’s the most wretched background, as long as you believe in your dreams and follow your dreams with doggedness and consistency and you remain focused, then whatever your dreams may be, you’re likely to succeed. So failure should never be an excuse.<br /> The magazine seeks to find young, enterprising people who, from nowhere, through hardwork and initiative, are carving a niche for themselves.<br /> We want something to inspire, we want something to motivate; and you know that the reading culture in Nigeria has dwindled so badly. So our style, our approach is a little laid-back; it doesn’t look too serious. It looks playful, which is my forte. I don’t take myself seriously even with deep and profound things. I like to do them from a very playful perspective; so that is what you have in the magazine.<br /> The approach is very visual from one page to another; it has pictures and an outlay that will hold your attention and we don’t want to make it too wordy; very few words but very deep content because Nigerians don’t have that discipline. So this is what the magazine represents.<br /> Those are the people we are targeting and, so far so good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">There is a column titled ‘Pissed’ and there is another ‘Street University’. What are they about?</span><br /> Ok ‘Pissed’; the column is run by me. It’s about all the stuff that upset me about Nigeria and being Nigerian. They are the things that piss me off about living in this country, about being part of a system that is not working. I’ve given so much to the development of this country; I’ve done so much yet I don’t understand why I feel I am useless.<br /> I have said so much but I don’t understand why nobody is listening to me. I have been behind so many campaigns, and I have fought so many wars yet I don’t understand why I feel I have done nothing. So I’m pissed. It’s my anger about being a Nigerian living in Nigeria that is on that page and, I think to a great extent, it expresses a lot of people’s anger because we are angry at the same things.<br /> We are angry that you and me should be better off than what we are today if we have an enabling environment. But the point is that we don’t have an enabling environment, and why don’t we have an enabling environment? Is it your fault or my fault? No; it’s the leadership fault. But then again, does that exonerate us? We are all guilty of inaction and the little action that I have done, I don’t know whether it is worth anything and so it keeps me wanting to do more.<br />Some of the people you have addressed with the project are alsocurrently local government chairmen, members in Houses of Assembly, and even governors. And they have also failed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So where does that leave this bracket of vibrant Nigerians for whom you collaborate?</span><br /> You see that is what I’m saying. Sometimes I feel I haven’t done anything. I don’t know why I keep feeling there is nobody listening. I don’t know why each time I turn around, the few people that I think I can trust, who I think can hold the candle, and do the right thing, suddenly go bad just because they got into the system and they have been corrupted by the system, they have been polluted by the system.<br /> And I’m thinking, Is it going to happen to all of us? I’m trying to hold my own but I do know that I have met a few exceptional Nigerians, who have held their own and have insisted that unless you come and kill them, they will not change from their position from what they know is right.<br /> Now, I don’t know how this is going to happen but I know that one thing they are building is to keep reinforcing the call for followership because Charlie Boy has moved from just being a celebrity or a very popular person to some kind of iconic image. Now what to do with that is to keep building that followership not because I want to run for anything but because as an agent of change, I’m also involved in the politics of change. I know and I pray that at one point or the other, we will get our own Obama.<br /> How, I don’t know but when he does come we will be ready and I have an army of youths to fall behind him. Or we will get our own Jerry Rawlings. How, I don’t know but I think a Jerry Rawlings will be better now because a lot of people need to be lined up and shot for the atrocities they have committed against the youth of my generation, the youth of this country. They have stolen their future; so imagine the kind of youth we will be breeding in the next 15 years. They will have been affected and polluted by the system. Our values have derailed; everybody now is in the mad quest for money. We are all acting like we are all bewitched.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Back to your magazine, was there a shock in transiting from music to magazine, and have you abandoned music as well?</span><br /> I have never really been a musician!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What? So what have you been doing in music?</span><br />I have never really been a musician. I believe a musician is someone who plays, reads and interprets music. I cannot do any of that; so, I’m not qualified to be called a musician. I’m an entertainer! I just use different media, different fora to express myself. I’m a communicator, and a good one at that. So I use different media. I use the medium of music but that doesn’t qualify me to be a musician. I don’t believe I’m a singer. I can open my mouth and hold some notes. I can’t play any instrument so I can’t claim to be a musician because I’m not.<br /> But then again, it’s all about communicating. And who is my audience; my audience is the youth and music is part of what we do to keep that brand on top because that was how the brand started and that was how people identified that brand as a musician. So that doesn’t qualify me as a musician; that is a great injustice. It’s more than that; it’s gone way beyond that.<br />You published your book biography a few years ago. How was it received?<br />I don’t do things to judge how people will receive it and I don’t do things because of patronage I’m going to receive for it. I do things because my spirit tells me that it is the appropriate time to do something. Just like some people asking me, how is your new album with Dr. Alban?<br /> For some people, there is a cost factor for them. But I’m not a business person; maybe that’s probable why I can never be rich. And, I don’t want to be rich; I just want to comfortable enough in life to pay my bills, and finish training my children and that is it; and have a small cubicle to retire to.<br /> I’m not driven by money. So when I say, which one is my own, it’s not because I’m stupid. It’s just that I’m not wired as a business person, and I don’t think business. I’m a creative soul and I want to remain like that but I thank God that He has managed to put in my path things to sustain the things I do.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Between magazine and Charly Boy brand </span><br />You tell me! Of course, it’s the most misunderstood brand but who gives a damn really about what people think. It’s about what you believe; and what I believe is pure and wholesome. What I believe is very positive.<br /> So if the brand was set up to shock timid, myopic, backward Nigerian out of their ways, and those Nigerians are still myopic, timid and backward why should I reduce the value of the brand? Sometimes you see me running around with okada people, with area boys, how does he understand their language?<br /> So the beauty of that brand is the fact that it can blend with anything, any situation and with anybody. And, there has never been a brand like that in the history of this country. We know people to stick to one thing and only one thing. But that brand can be used for different things; so I don’t blame people who misunderstand its intention.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-48306943566714350452010-05-10T04:29:00.001-07:002010-05-10T04:29:55.130-07:00The invention of lyingBY WOLE OGUNTOKUN<br />YOU’RE probably wondering what kind of subject title this is, so, I’ll explain. It’s lifted wholesale from a Ricky Gervais acted and co-directed movie I watched on the plane as I left the country on Wednesday morning (By the time you’re reading this, I would have been back in Nigeria a few hours. I have a show to run)<br /> So in the movie, Mr. Gervais lives in a country where nobody lies, they do not have the ability to. Waiters tell you they took a sip of your drink as they brought it down to you, your secretary tells you you’re a loser, women tell you they do not find you attractive the moment they meet you, or one woman tells another on sight, “I find you threatening”.<br /> It’s a strange movie, one that stretches the mind that makes you think “What if?” What if we all were unable to lie? What if we were compelled to tell the truth to all we met, to all those who asked us to have relationships with them, to all those we were engaged or married to, what would we really say?<br /> There are relationships based on pity, on fear, or on mutual convenience; there are people of indeterminate sexual preferences in relationships designed to please the judgmental eye of the world. But on a planet where we had to tell the truth, what would we really say if lying had not yet been discovered?<br /> Man says to woman: “I really would like to have a relationship with you. I think you and I are a perfect match.” <br /> The woman replies like Jennifer Garner did to Ricky Gervais in the movie, “I do not find you sexually attractive and do not think we are genetically compatible. You are fat and will give me chubby children with snub noses.”<br /> In some ways, in all our minds, we all have these conditions, which we never really spell out. “We do not come from the same social background”, “Your father is a rustic farmer and would be a terrible in-law”, “your family would embarrass mine in public.”<br /> Some of these excuses might appear shallow to a few people but we all have ours in varying degrees. One that The Whisperer was affected by in the past? If you shared genes with a strange person, that is you had a sibling who was garrulous, too loud, too offensive, too in-your-face, I would feel you were tainted in some way and would be unable to have a relationship with you.<br /> Odd, but it affected many situations I was in then. In some way, I would feel you were tying me to someone I would rather not have wished to make personal acquaintance with.<br /><br />IT has been three years since I began to write this column. Three years since I stood with Jumoke Verissimo and Ayo Arigbabu on a quiet Festac Town road at dusk and spoke with them of my desire to write a column on relationships with a different style, three years since the editor of The Guardian on Sunday, Jahman Anikulapo, joined that conversation being the man who had the final say and whose only fear then was that I would not be consistent in meeting deadlines because I was a busy man. I am glad for the opportunity I have had to reach many people, for the people who have written in to say the columns have been of help, have added perspective. I do not claim to be a Dr. Phil and have no desire to become one. The idea is to tell it like it is.<br /> What would you tell your partner today (or a prospective partner) if you lacked the capacity to lie? Some of us should be called “ever-ready”. I have met people, both male and female, who could reel off lies the same way others switch channels on a television with a remote control. But what would you really say to your partner of two years if you lacked the capacity to tell a fib? Would you say “this has been the most beautiful experience of my life and I hope we have another fifty years of it” or would it be “Let me out of here this instant! I’m catching the midnight train to Georgia”<br /> Ricky Gervais, in that movie, became the first man in the world who could tell a lie. I have told myself I am going to tell my truth as much as I can. Where it might cause unwarranted pain, I might hold my tongue but generally now, I won’t be restricting the “flaming sword”.<br /> If I do not want your company, I shall tell you so (I lie in this matter. I have always told anyone whose company I did not want, of the exact nature of my thoughts. It appears cruel but it pays all the parties concerned in the long run)<br /> The Whisperer has directed ‘The Ultimate Face-Off’ — The V Monologues versus The Tarzan Monologues” every Sunday for three weeks now and it has sold out show after show. Now I understand the true meaning of rave reviews. A columnist I hold in esteem wrote to say I had “arrived” as a director and a scriptwriter. That made me smile.<br /> I ‘arrived’ a long while back; but he’s only just taking notice. Remember it’s my inability to lie since I saw the movie that makes me say this and not my legendary arrogance. I have learnt the truth of the lines in Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘If’. “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat both impostors just the same, then you will be a man, my son.”<br /> In the monologues, which close at Terra Kulture this Sunday, at least for a while, I have triumphed mightily but I look at success now with the eye of a sceptic. The success of the Monologues is not what makes me who I am. I have always been this way; it just took some people a while to find out.<br /><br />NEXT time you are having a heart to heart talk with your partner, remember to tell it like it is. Life is too short to be saddled with a situation you are in just for the convenience or because the world might look at you funny if you are alone for any length of time. It’s your life, live it like you know the true meaning of that phrase.<br /><br />laspapi@yahoo.comThe Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-14973655567543040482010-05-10T04:25:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:28:21.165-07:00Who gets Terra Kulture’s nod for phase 2?<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRIpUCFV_jwSeVZljhQ6cXV6MRoXvIsm6wMQ29xBSau0boLO2IoC8qoOnDBNI-tvC8YatYXMjcpIlDHQvpkcK40PvxaZxAaZ9OoRbv7HBkzPqKLJ3Xxa8Tk1JVPeXNEhUFnkGlHoI_dg/s1600/1.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRIpUCFV_jwSeVZljhQ6cXV6MRoXvIsm6wMQ29xBSau0boLO2IoC8qoOnDBNI-tvC8YatYXMjcpIlDHQvpkcK40PvxaZxAaZ9OoRbv7HBkzPqKLJ3Xxa8Tk1JVPeXNEhUFnkGlHoI_dg/s320/1.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469601458652627346" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY AYODELE ARIGBABU</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I SPIED him out there on the lawn through the glass façade he must have once sketched while designing the building, Goke Osibodu of design / identity assets company MOE with his children, chatting away with Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It is on rare occasions that you meet the prime accomplices to a crime on the very scene where it was perpetuated. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I walked out of the restaurant to say hello and then asked the most mundane question I could think of just to stir up something. If you had a chance to change something in this building you did here, what would it be? </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Trying to sound all smart and spontaneous without revealing that I’d just paraphrased a similar question asked of a totally different subject by a totally different person just moments ago. He thought for a moment and confessed that he wouldn’t change a thing, granted that the client — Mrs. Austen-Peters had added a few thing after he’s handed the building over to her, but he was happy all the same. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Austen-Peters was just as happy, particularly with the African themed furniture in the restaurant, which she confessed would be carried over into their new project, an extension to the present facility, being planned for the adjoining plot which had been recently acquired and cleared for temporary parking space. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Nosy-so-and-so that he tends to be when it comes to design matters, the design sleuth seized the opportunity to ask who would be designing Terra Kulture Phase 2. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> While Mr. Osibodu glossed over the question, Mrs. Austin-Peters was straight and direct. The South African firm @126 Group, an integrated design firm led by the dup of Nick Ristic and Jack Neeves, which had made a few incursions into the Lagos design scape were doing the honours while MOE Identity Assets would be handling the interiors… Mr. Osibodu didn’t seem to have her time when she needed his architectural expertise she sort of intoned, while the architect looked away sheepishly. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">GEEZ, in a recession bitten third world economy, some architects still have the luxury of being too busy for certain clients, especially clients like Terra Kulture - a prime culture venue in the country’s hippest city that could and did allow some leeway in terms of quirky notions like African themed furniture and ramps that curve to the first floor like primeval suspension bridges… is MOE still that busy building all those Guaranty Trust Bank branches they chew their way through like school kids chewing through their favourite wafers? </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> When I grow up, I want to be like Mr. Osibodu and be too busy to answer briefs from clients like Terra Kulture, busy enough to let a South African firm do it while I concede to squeeze in the time to just do the interiors… for old times’ sake. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> But it wasn’t only Goke Osibodu that was in the building on that night, there was also Alan Davies of James Cubitt Architects who the design sleuth was too happy to say hello to though I can bet my spectacles he was struggling to remember where we’d met before (he can be forgiven, he’s come a long way) and Theo Lawson of The Lawson + Odeinde Partnership, who graciously took the design sleuth down memory lane on an old pet project that had found a life of its own. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Meeting one’s former bosses at a book launch is not something that happens to you every day especially when you are a layabout like the design sleuth, but if there’s vodka and campari and red wine and small chops and Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 band and good company peppered with delectable ladies to go with it, then it gets all that more significant. It was the book presentation for Outsider Inside — longtime serving expatriate, Keith Richard’s book on his experiences in and out of different board rooms in Nigeria and…the Design Sleuth was nicely snuzzled…you must have figured that out already.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">dreamarts.designagency@gmail.com, www.designpages.blogspot.com</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-78380578383611302452010-05-10T04:19:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:25:27.057-07:00Ogbazi… From runway to studio<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5vitZr87QX2UIW6wiLePHrne15ijm5UiZTRdeGwlxGJS5GlxtS3z-cPeofMLfhyphenhyphennhWjHBdmYXz4LkItwMPZ3QqDXLVrnOy11fbrlyjDIlhL7LCmrJ2oEO1Wu7jPeSkOF3O4n2EkZdt0/s1600/Beautiful-gif.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5vitZr87QX2UIW6wiLePHrne15ijm5UiZTRdeGwlxGJS5GlxtS3z-cPeofMLfhyphenhyphennhWjHBdmYXz4LkItwMPZ3QqDXLVrnOy11fbrlyjDIlhL7LCmrJ2oEO1Wu7jPeSkOF3O4n2EkZdt0/s320/Beautiful-gif.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469599977329276034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Nigerians living abroad, whether in Hollywood, Paris, London or Milan, are breaking barriers in the movies, music, fashion industries and sports, too. Many of them have etched their names in gold. The story of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jason Ogbazi</span> is no different. In a few years, he has transited from the art studio to the runway, along the line, becoming a famous photographer and a model for international labels. <span style="font-weight: bold;">MARK EHIDIAME JOHN</span> speaks with him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Background</span><br /> My name is Jason. Jason is actually ‘Son of God’. If you pronounce it the way it should, it becomes Jah son — the son of Jah — that is, Jesus from the Greek mythology. You know our names have a lot to do with what we are and the way we act out our destinies. I mean, look at the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, and how he has managed to get to where he is now. He is Goodluck and he has had good luck in his political career, I’m not saying I’m Jesus Christ, I don’t even know how to pray, but because I have great belief in God, certain things just come to me naturally.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So, as a painter, how did you get into modeling?</span><br /> Well, while I was in London, I used to go to the gym a lot to keep shape. So, when I was working out in the gym one day, somebody approached me, asking if I would like to model. And I answered in the affirmative, yeah! They organised a photo shoot with a major photographer called Darren Paul. So, he shot my first portfolio and sent them out to a lot of modeling agencies and eventually, I got hung up with one, BMA Models, in the outskirts of London. So, everyday they send me articles, to cast a particular product in fashion line or something; that was how I started modeling. I did a lot of fashion campaigns for companies such as London fashion, Adidas, Guess Jeans and Costa Coffee among others.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />What about the photography...?</span><br /> In retrospect, I think the whole photography thing just came natural to me, you know at a point I decided that I will not model anymore; I will rather be behind the cameras, that’s how my whole photography career started. With some training and advice, I started. I have worked with top photographers in England such as Paul and a whole lot of fashion photographers in London.<br />What is your area of specialisation?<br /> I do creative photography. It is the kind of photography, where we pick different pieces of photographs to create something beautiful. I’m somebody, who likes to be original in what I do; I started adding my own originality, so, whenever you see my photographs, you know it’s me.<br />What was your experience as a student in England?<br /> I was a normal Nigerian youth living in London and trying to make it. You know, going to school and working in some of the offices and then, somewhere along the line, this modeling thing started to happen and somehow, my life had a shift in focus. It got a major shift that took me towards art, art is all I could think of, is all I could see and everything about me became art, you know I couldn’t do anything else but art! I mean I sleep and live art, I can’t imagine a day without doing art.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Has photography been rewarding?</span><br /> Of course, it’s been very rewarding, but I guess in Nigeria here, if you’re a mediocre, you won’t get anywhere. You have to do top photographs for advertising, billboards or working for large companies to make big money. But just shooting normal people won’t give you the money. Well, if it were abroad, you could make so much money with that but here, it’s not so. You cannot really sell your photographs for good money because importance are not attached to it apart from the learned and exposed ones who know the real value of photography. My customers are mostly people, who have traveled wide and see what photography is, they can pay big buck for paintings and photographs.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-23164023429124659272010-05-10T04:13:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:18:31.822-07:00Partying MTV Africa @ 5<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcniyjKBI2tZ68aR8HqwWzVbFAaQpGtZ5O9hSLdGroGFMy8EhUNo6oX7v0PqXf0Q-HnIXUIe8iIv1m4W9Q6jR_tATOZXMhE8yFHCfMak2sGzMORXesP4tvbUOQVPTo23MLfxNgYjxkLsQ/s1600/MTV.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcniyjKBI2tZ68aR8HqwWzVbFAaQpGtZ5O9hSLdGroGFMy8EhUNo6oX7v0PqXf0Q-HnIXUIe8iIv1m4W9Q6jR_tATOZXMhE8yFHCfMak2sGzMORXesP4tvbUOQVPTo23MLfxNgYjxkLsQ/s400/MTV.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469598363046245970" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY CHUKS NWANNE</span><br />All of a sudden, Tribeca Nite Club, Victoria Island, Lagos, has become the choice venue for most event organisers. Just few months after the opening, the club has already hosted major shows including Femi Kuti’s Grammy reception party, Mr. Nigeria contest, Beat FM party and numerous album launch gigs.<br /> One wonders why the building has suddenly taken over top rated concerts in Lagos. Could it be for the location or the state of the art equipment, which the club boasts of? Well, the reason is best known to event organisers, who seem to be bent on staging their gigs there.<br /> However, Tribeca club got more than it could handle recently, when MTV Networks Africa and LG Mobile teamed up to celebrate the fifth birthday of music channel, MTV Base.<br /> The celebrity-studded show, which featured notable Nigerian artistes on stage, also witnessed the official launch of LG Chocolate phone series – BL40 and BL20.<br /> By 8pm that evening, Adetokunbo Ademola Street was jam-packed with all sorts of vehicles ranging from SUVs to posh cars… just name it. The packing that night practically reduced the roads to single lane each; in fact, there was no parking space. Most guests had to make do with Bar Beach, but not without settling the area boys, who must have made enough cash that night just keeping watch over the cars.<br /> From the main gate to the poolside where the performances held, the whole place was filled to capacity, yet hundreds of guests were still at the gate with their IVs, struggling to gain access into the venue. It got to the point that the organisers had to temporarily shut the gate in a bid to create more spaces in the already jam-packed venue; it was a night of ‘who is who’ in the country’s entertainment industry.<br /> <br />With frontline DJs such as Jimmy Jatt and DJ Humility on the console, you don’t expect anything less than the best. Regarded as the best in the country, both DJs surely gave good account of themselves. <br /> The stage, which was constructed on top of the swimming pool, came under heavy performance from the likes of Mr. Capable Banky W, Eldee, Omawunmi, MI and Naeto C, who were specially contracted by MTV to thrill guests all through the night. Other entertainers at the party include DJ Zeez, Azadus, Kevin Chuwang Pam (Big Brother Africa), Mode 9, Djinee, Knight House, Sound Sultan, YQ, Jesse Jagz, Lamii, Kel, Kanayo O Kanayo, Dakore Egbuson, ID Ogungbe and other distinguished guests.<br /> Though not a night of Long speech, the General Manager, LG Mobile Communication, Mr. Steve Koh, congratulated MTV Networks Africa for delivering high quality entertainment through its MTV base channel over the last five years. <br /> Koh noted that the partnership between LG Mobile and MTV is part of efforts to enhance the visibility of LG Mobile as a trendy, hippy and fashionable brand, stressing that both brands have a lot in common and much more to deliver on the platform of this partnership.<br /> “We at LG Mobile are very passionate about what we stand for as a brand — innovation, stylish design and reliability. The partnership between LG Mobile and MTV Networks Africa is pursuant to these values. There is no better place to restate these values than a place like this. This is gathering of stars, respected for their excellence in service and performance especially among the teeming population of Nigerians and people from all walks of life.”<br /> According to the GM, “the Chocolate - BL40 and BL20 are precious mobile devices specially designed to accentuate your statement of class. We reckon that Nigerians, and indeed Africans, fans and friends of MTV and the array of stars here present, deserve a touch of class and the Chocolate phones from LG Mobile comes handy, on time and on this day to spice this celebration of achievement that has redefined entertainment in the past five years.”<br /> A complete touch screen mobile device and fourth in the Black Label Series of mobile phones, Koh informed that, “the LG Chocolate BL40 phone has a 4.0 inch wide HD LCD screen with 800x345 pixel resolution to maximize visual experience. This allows combination of a range of natural colours, create sharper photos, make videos more true-to-life, games more natural and documents are more readable. With its 5mega pixel camera, the LG Chocolate BL20 combines state-of-the-art technology with beautiful designs features such as auto and flash that enable it deliver the highest performance.” <br /> Banky W, Eldee, Omawunmi, MI and Naeto C were among the first set of Nigerians to own the sleek mobile phone; they got it free of charge at the event; though Banky W gave out his freely to one of his fans just few minutes after the presentation.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">HOMEFRONT</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MUSON Choir recreates St. John Passion </span><br />The MUSON choir accompanied by the MUSON Symphony Orchestra, will today recreate Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion. Scheduled to hold at the Agip Recital Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, the concert will kick off at 6pm, under the baton of Emeka Nwokedi. <br /> In the cast for the the work that tells the story of the death of Jesus Christ, are seasoned artistes including Oguchi Egbunine, a fine tenor who plays the role of Evangelist linking other principal characters and the choir. Others are John-Paul Ochei (Bass) who acts Jesus; Taiwo Jayeola (Bass) playing the role of Peter and Uzo Emenanna (Bass) playing Pilate’s role.<br /> Other soloists are Francesca Boyo (Soprano), Mary-Ann Agetu (Soprano), John Eclou/Stanley Okoli (Tenor) and Obinna Ifediora (Bass), while Tosin Ajayi, and Alaba Akinselure, will man the organ.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Black Night with Mode Men</span><br />All is set for this year’s edition of the Mode Men magazine’s anniversary show tagged Black Night. Now in it’s fourth edition, the show, which is conceived as a black carpet show, is billed for Saturday, April 3, at the Marque, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, with a special dinner for guests. <br /> The event will be spiced with music performances, fashion show, comedy and a raffle draw, with proceeds from the auction going to charity. <br /> According to the publisher of the bi-monthly lifestyle magazine that celebrates men and their achievement, Abubakar Tafewa Balewa, the celebration will not be only about eating and drinking as funds will be raised for charity purposes as part of its social responsibility.<br /> “Nigeria being the most populous black nation in the world, we are iconic in the celebration of the African/Nigerian man. We also intend to use the occasion to raise funds for an orphanage in Lagos, as a way of our social responsibility.”<br /> To be anchored by the duo of Leroy Owugah and Bimbo Akintola, notable among entertainers billed to grace the event are the King of comedy Ali Baba, Julius Agu, Basket Mouth and AY, J. Martins, Jesse Jagz, Jaywon, Femi Adeyinka, Silver Saddih, Lim Gizzy and Emco amongst others. Five top Nigerian fashion designers will also showcase their new collections on the runway at the event supported by Wisemen Apparel, Federal Palace Hotel and Cytech communications.<br /> It would be recalled that last year’s edition of the show raised funds for the purchase of goods for Pacelli School for the Blind, Surulere, Lagos and Dooshima Education Foundation in Makurdi, Benue state.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nigeria artistes back Yaw’s Private Lies </span><br />Top rated Nigerian artistes have thrown their weight behind broadcaster Steve Onu (Yaw), who will be staging a play, Private Lies, today at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. The artistes are expected to spice up the event with performances. <br /> Written by Tyrone E. Terrence and produced by Yaw, the four man casts will feature the popular broadcaster, Steve Onu and actor Jude Orhorha (Gbenro of the award winning sitcom, Fuji House of Commotion). It will also feature the duo of Sontonye Green and Kaybee Emokpaire, up coming acts, who were discovered during an auditioning for the play.<br /> According to Yaw, a Theatre Arts graduate of the Lagos State University (LASU), the play is being staged as part of his efforts to revive live theatre in the country.<br /> “Live theatre cannot die because it has been there for ages and will continue to live. Also, the message of the play is very vital to us as Nigerians, whih informed my choice of selecting it.” <br /> With Emma Uduma as director, Private Lies is a story of love told via an intricate web of lies, hatred and betrayal. Two couples; Jeff and Barbara on one side, and Sam and Rose on the other, find themselves locked in a familiar but yet complicated situation that will see them sacrifice years of friendship as well as nuptial vows to satisfy their most pedestal passion. <br /> The first show is expected to kick off at 4pm, with performances from Ruggedman, J Martins, Jaywon, Dagrin, Obiwon and General Pype. While the second show billed for 7pm will feature Ali Baba, Basket Mouth, Teju Babyface, Koffi, Owen Gee, Klint Da Drunk, Ay, Tee A, Seyi Law, Emeka Smith, 9ice, Banky W, Weird MC and MI.<br /> For every ticket purchased, the audience will have the opportunity to shop at Sixth Sense between April 2 and 5, at a discount rate, while designer OUCH will be giving away lots of gifts for every VIP ticket. There will be free Power Horse drinks, while ten lucky guests will get return tickets to Abuja courtesy of DANA Air.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-10128471832393962612010-05-10T04:10:00.000-07:002010-05-10T04:12:56.561-07:00Teeth 4 TeethBY JUSTIN AKPOVI-ESADE<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Wande Coal ‘Watches’ Yaw On Radio</span><br />CAN someone please tell Wazobia FM to either take off hip-hop act Wande Coal’s promo on presenter Yaw or edit it? Wande at the end of the skit advised everybody to keep ‘watching’ Yaw (watching on radio o?) every morning. Nice work Wande Coal, but since when did people start watching programme on radio? You need to be flogged, anyway, the hip-hop act has a history of goofs. Wande, at one time, wanted to shower praises on Guinness Nigeria Plc. for their good works on the entertainment industry at an event, but ended up thanking Nigerian Breweries; it took the compere some efforts to whisper to him before he came back to his senses.<br /> Verdict: Wande Coal needs to be frog-jumped for him to be wise.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Ateke Tom: The Leo Mezie connection</span><br />YOU will be wondering why I have been on Nollywood star, Leo Mezie’s case for quite some time now, especially since he got married. Well, if you are indeed concerned, then tell Leo to stay at home because as long as he or other celebrities come out, they will be spotted by eagle eye T4T. Last week Friday night, Leo was restless, making calls after calls. Then at about 9.30pm, he raced down the staircase and shortly appeared with some stern looking characters, all looking like actors out of a Marlon Brandon Godfather movie. The bowel of the celebrity hangout stood still as ex-militant and Niger Delta warrior Ateke Tom walked in with his large entourage. The aura of power will make even Goodluck Jonathan go green with envy. In fact, I won’t go into the details of things that followed. So, ex-militants can groove that much? Well, you won’t blame Tom, after years of being in the creeks and fighting; amnesty has made all free and so, it’s time to show the stuff one is made of.<br /> As for Leo, hmmm, I trust he can take care of himself bcos dis new friend wey Leo get so na big frend o o.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">... And talkative was in the groove</span><br />COMEDIAN Talkative was one of the people that made the Ateke Tom’s groove thick; a knife would have issues cutting through. He was all smiles as expensive drinks and rich food found their way to the reserved table for the former warlord. Who no go smile for dat kain situation?<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Talkative and Goodluck Jonathan</span><br />ACTING President Goodluck Jonathan is perhaps not the only person that will share from his good luck. Comedian Talkative, reports say, have relocated from whereever he had been hibernating to the seat of power, Abuja, since Jonathan assumed office as ‘Acting President’. It’s no news that Talkative and Jonathan have been enjoying a father/son relationship since the latter’s days as Governor of Bayelsa State. The rumour mill revealed that as soon as Jonathan was announced ‘Acting President’, Talkative was on the plane the next minute to Abuja, of course, with several proposals. One of his oncoming films on Niger Delta first known freedom fighter, Adaka Boro, was top on his brief case. When T4T accosted him last Friday, he denied the report. But there is a noticeable change in his body features since Jonathan became the nation’s top man. Talkative was lean some months ago, but now, he looks as fresh as eja aro (point and kill fish). Advice: Talkie, make hay while the sun shines because your Godfather has just some months on that seat, that is if Yar’Adua and Turai do not pull another stunt like they did with the return from Saudi Arabia. No be me talk o, na amebo people dem o.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">E-Money, KC Presh and The Sengemenge Family</span><br />I FEEL happy writing this report on the hottest and youngest millionaires in town. Who are they? You have not been moving around if you are still asking this question. Hip hop stars KC Presh and the elder brother of the K in KC, Emeka alias E-Money are the people making Lagos tick at the moment. They are called the Sengemenge Family (just like in the Mafia, where you have the Gambino, Corleon etc families). They move about in a large convoy of Hummer jeeps with revolving lights. If they happen on your club any day, you can go to sleep for the next three days because you definitely will run out of drinks and foods since they invade often with about 30 people excluding mogbo moyas (gate crashers) at the place. While Ateke Tom was holding the celebrity hangout in Surulere to ransom that Friday, the Sengemenge family was some metres away, just by the stage, showing the stuff they are made of. At intervals, E-Money would cause rain to fall on the in-house band, a wad of N1000 bills. It got to a point, the leader of the band was so confused, he almost fainted. Ateke Tom on his part will reply with two wads of the same denomination. It was a ‘contest’ of no winner. T4T’s wife was forced to ask, at a point, if those bills were real money. My dear, they are real money, being spent by real people. My initial excitement evaporated as we drove home in my rickety Tuke Tuke car. Show me the man that won’t feel slightly worried when he just witnessed young people spraying N1000 notes. But, I was consoled that Jesus is still lord and we shall make it in His name… Amen.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">D’ Lecturer at it again</span><br />SINCE comic act D’ Lecturer bought his car that many say is not better than T4T’s Tuke Tuke, he has since stopped coming to celebrity hangouts to search for who to drop him at the next BRT bus station for onward transmission to Akute, a suburb of Lagos, where reports say he is planning to buy his country home (he currently lives in a flat at a ridiculous low rent a bad belly says can only pay for a single room’s rent in Surulere).<br /> Saw the petit comedian when he came to town (as if na anoda state im dey stay). He was all smiles, spotting a designer shirt with his name inscribed on the breast pocket, the comic declined all entreaties by his friends to buy some shacks. He rather began a systematic thumbing of cigarettes from people’s packs on the table. You can take the man from the ghetto; you cannot take the ghetto from the man.<br /> Na talk I talk o.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">ogbuus@yahoo.com</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-46826379873609480732010-05-10T03:59:00.001-07:002010-05-10T04:10:16.575-07:00Ubaka… Return of the ‘rejected stone’<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwqG8tbiyo5x3dcoFMjPi1BZmkKetv9i5mAzQ0AVozOVN5qb27braa6tpJZ0PbHEVhVijKvHXORIfZDo14sKwJnWNo0hIhEwhwQ2v2QvLfPBNzKivlu0PJvQ_JE425HFtmEODRXHShhU/s1600/Movie.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwqG8tbiyo5x3dcoFMjPi1BZmkKetv9i5mAzQ0AVozOVN5qb27braa6tpJZ0PbHEVhVijKvHXORIfZDo14sKwJnWNo0hIhEwhwQ2v2QvLfPBNzKivlu0PJvQ_JE425HFtmEODRXHShhU/s320/Movie.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469594671968309954" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" ><br />BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI</span><br />HIS story is like that of the rejected stone, which ended up being in the head corner position. The filmmaker, JOSEPH UGOCHUKWU UBAKA, did all he could to be accepted as a filmmaker in the country, but no one gave him a chance. In frustration, the Enugu-born filmmaker, whose debut feature, Trapped Dream, received the special jury prize at the 29th edition of the African Cinema Festival in Verona, Italy, left for Senegal, where he was accepted. An actor, screenplay writer, director and producer, Ubaka was born and raised in Enugu. He had his secondary education at the National Grammar School, Nike, Enugu. It was while in school that he nursed the ambition of emerging a top entertainer. Ubaka sang, danced and acted and was a regular feature of the school and most off-school dramatic, music and literary events. But it was music that appealed to him the most. The tall, well built filmmaker wanted to become a successful rap musician in the mould of L.L Cool J. So far, the alumnus of the Berlin Talent Campus, who has worked extensively outside the shores of the country and received commendation abroad, speaks with Moviedom.<br /><br />The AMAA 2010 nomination<br /> Well, I am glad that the movie, Lilies in the Ghetto, made it to the very last round, which is the nomination stage. I understand that the academy received well over 500 films and for your work to get to that level and even get nominated means a lot. So, I am happy, though I was expecting that I would be nominated in the cinematography category. I think we did our best there but again, you can’t have it all and perspectives are different. I mean, I looked through the list and discovered that there were some quality jobs there. So, I look forward to a good outing at AMAA, and like I said, somewhere, there is no better recognition than the one from home.<br />Decision to become a musician<br /> My elder brother won’t hear of it. He hollered all day and told everyone how I wanted to end up on the streets. And true, at that time, those who were musicians were not taken seriously even by the society. It was just like football then. Today, everyone is encouraging his or her ward to either be a musician or a footballer. Way back then, it was looked down upon. So, my elder brother objected and I had no option than to obey.<br />Living in Bondage inspired me<br /> So, when it was time to choose a course of study upon admission, I finally applied to study Political Science at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. But that decision didn’t keep me away from the arts. As I took classes in Political Science, I wrote scripts and sought acting opportunities. It took the success of the phenomenal Living in Bondage -- a film that is believed to have spurred interest in home video production -- for me to rediscover my love for the arts. It rekindled my interest in the arts. It got me thinking seriously about filmmaking as a career. That was when all those things I did during my early school days came in handy. <br />I wrote my first film script in my second year<br /> By the second year into study, I had a script ready. That was when I wrote my first feature screenplay titled End of the Road that has not yet been produced. The story treats the highest level of cultism in our higher institution of learning. It was my own way of campaigning against the vice. But I couldn’t get anyone to breathe life into the script. So it remained with me until I left Zaria with a degree in Political Science.<br />No one gave me a chance in Nollywood<br /> Upon graduation, I left for Lagos. To be relevant and to have your art aired, Lagos was the place to be. I looked out for acting and or scriptwriting opportunities but no one wanted to give me a chance. I was not known enough to pen a script to be produced or not a selling face for a movie role. Once, I had a nasty encounter with a notable producer, who in spite of the quality of my proposal, blatantly refused to understand my vision and passion for cinema. I had gone to see a so-called executive film producer in Nigeria, who had not gone to university, let alone, attending any film school; he talked me down, without knowing what I could offer. He said I was good enough to play waka pass (extra) and that I should forget about talking to him about script writing or any other thing about filmmaking. It was so devastating. I was tired of everything and I thought the best way out of it was to go train and return.<br />I got a break in Senegal<br /> A year after, some Pan African filmmakers, who are resident in Dakar, Senegal, and I, created a legal film association called Filmi Gët (atelier des recherché cinématographiques). This was in 1999. It was the same year that Filmi Gët, in collaboration with Forut Media Centre de Dakar, produced our documentary fiction titled Ganaw Keur. I worked as assistant director on the set of the documentary that was selected at the festival d’ film d’Amien. In 2000, I got directing and co-production credit. That was when I directed and co-produced my first short written fiction film titled Jungle Justice, in collaboration with Bureau Pan African Communication, Media Centre de Dakar and Filmi Gët. My long stay in Senegal paid off when in 2003, I was among 12 young filmmakers that were sponsored to receive filmmaking training program at the Media Centre de Dakar, under the Tutorship of Fred Rendina, an America-trained filmmaker, who has worked with HBO television station. A year later, I was in Germany on the bill of TV5, a France based Television station. I was sent to Berlin to receive training at the Berlin Talent Campus, a major skill acquisition programme of the Berlin International Film Festival. I returned from Germany and made it straight to France for an exchange programme on filmmaking in Lile, France, under the sponsorship of Masion Jeune de la culture (MJC), Valencia, Spain. My turning point as a cinematographer came in 2003. That was when I directed and co produced my first documentary film project titled L’homme D’ Gardio in collaboration with Filmi Gët and PeriPlan International Africa Film Festival in Lile, France. It was my first time experience as a cinematographer. In 2005, I signed an international co production deal for my first fiction film titled Europe by Road. The film was released in April 2008. The film came two years after I directed and co- produced my third short fiction film titled Hearth Break in collaboration with Filmi Gët and Media Centre de Dakar.<br />Trapped dream is my word to African Youths<br /> My award winning Trapped Dream is a call to African youths to have a rethink as the future of Africa lies in their hands. Since the 1930s, the dream of African youths is to migrate to the western world in search of greener pasture or fabled Golden Fleece. This dream, over the past two decades has unfortunately taken a dangerous and frightful dimension. So I want them to see and learn from the movie that there is no easy life anywhere. The future of Africa lies in their hands and they have a duty to salvage it and make it a better place for everybody and generations yet unborn. Individual families, organisations and governmental agencies, too have fundamental roles to play in reversing this ugly sore festering the youths.<br />I look forward to doing something here<br /> Now back home, I look forward to working on home soil. I am open to collaborations. And I am willing to contribute my quota to the growth of the development of the industry. And you see Nollywood will rise again. It is only going through a phase that other industries have gone through. It will come out of its present distressed state. I know that for sure and I hold strongly that filmmaking is a serious professional business not all comers’ affair, so there is still hope for Nollywood.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Around and about Nollywood...</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />CFC showcases films n Switzerland </span><br />COMMUNICATING For Change (CFC), the non-governmental organisation that has since 1998 being in the forefront of raising awareness of environmental and social issues, was invited by CARITAS, the African Mirror Foundation, Nigerian in Diaspora Organization Europe, the Swiss African Forum, and the Afro-European Medical and Research Network to present their films on female genital mutilation (Uncut! Playing with Life), democracy and good governance (Film Democratic), and HIV & AIDS (Bayelsan Silhouettes). The films, according to information contained in the e-newsletter of the organisation, was presented to a diverse audience of stakeholders in Bern, Switzerland. CFC’s Executive Director, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, gave a presentation on how media can positively impact development by showing excerpts of CFC’s films and sharing lessons learned and research findings from national behavior change campaigns in Nigeria. A lively discussion ensued regarding the need to address harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), within migrant communities in Europe, the need to ensure open dialogue and collaboration between experienced development groups in Europe and Africa, and the need to keep up the pressure in calling for anti-FGM national legislation in Nigeria. The audience commended CFC for projecting a balanced, homegrown view of local development challenges to a global community by producing films that portray issues from a positive standpoint.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gyang, CFC partner is Producer of the Year </span><br />THE CFC, through its e-newsletter, has announced that one of its partners and talented writer, producer and director Kenneth Gyang was awarded Screen Producer of the Year 2010 by the prestigious Future Awards, at a ceremony recently held in Lagos. Kenneth has worked with CFC on various projects, including co-Directing CFC’s Democracy and Good Governance films with Tunde Kelani in 2006, whilst completing his films studies at the National Film Institute (NFI) in Jos. Kenneth also worked on CFC’s Bayelsan Silhouettes film series as an Associate Producer in 2007 to 2008, and most recently directed one of CFC’s latest films on Nollywood, as part of the Red Hot! Nigeria’s Creative Economy series, which will be launched this year. “I have huge confidence in the quality of my work so it was great to receive the award”, Kenneth said after being named Screen Producer of the Year. ‘Since 2006, when I crossed paths with CFC, I have been grateful for the team’s encouragement and support, which has helped me to develop my skills and progress in my career.’ ‘Kenneth is one of Nigeria’s most talented young filmmakers’, commented Sandra Obiago, Executive Director, CFC, upon hearing of his award. ‘We are very proud of his achievement and believe that empowering youth like Kenneth has enriched the Nigerian media landscape and given an important voice to our creative youth to tell their own stories.’ Besides partnering with CFC, Kenneth has also worked with the Goethe Institut, the BBC World Service Trust, the Society for Family Health (SFH) and Johns Hopkins University, USA, and is currently working on his first feature film, Confusion Na Wa.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">...And Innovating for Africa gets AMAA nomination </span><br />INNOVATING for Africa, the 22-minute documentary from the stable of Communicating for Change on Dr. Oluyombo Awojobi, who built a clinic from scratch with no government assistance and external funding, is on the nomination list of the 2010 African Movie Academy Award dubbed AMAA 2010. The documentary, as directed by Deji Adesanya, is in contention with four other documentaries – Wamba Ngoma from Tanzania, Peace Wanted Alive from Kenya, Bariga Boys from Nigeria and En quette d’identite from Burkina Faso. The documentary — uncommon service tells the remarkable story of Dr. Awojobi, who has served over a hundred thousand Nigerians in an area (Eruwa in Ogun State, South West Nigeria) where access to quality healthcare facilities and equipment is scarce. The AMAA award proper comes up on April 10 at the Glory Land Cultural Centre, Yenegoa, Bayelsa State.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It’s 71 entries in all for Zuma 2010</span><br />THE Nigerian Film Corporation has announced the receipt of 71 entries for all categories of the film festival at close of submission of entries.<br /> Entries closed on February 28, 2010. A statement from the secretariat of ZUMA Film Festival (ZFF) 2010, which is in its fifth (5th Edition) indicates that the quality of entries received are encouraging going by the timely response by both Nigerians and foreign filmmakers to participate in the festival. A breakdown shows that of the 71 entries, Nigerian filmmakers account for 51 while 20 are foreign. The number of potential exhibitors for the film market of the festival, the statement added, is also encouraging as everything is being done to ensure that it is a success. The 2010 edition has Global Images: Global Voices, as its theme and it seeks to strengthen the bridging of existing gabs between developed and developing film cultures. The focus on the Global nature and impact of film as a medium of expression is to encourage filmmakers and film making nations to undertake the globalization of their films without losing the rhythm and practices that make each artistic culture distinctively different. ZUMA Film Festival (ZFF) 2010 holds at the Nicon Luxury Hotels, Abuja from May 2 to 6.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >Waka pass… <br /><br />Producer- Amebo A. Amebo<br />Director- Mr. Gossip<br />Actors- Nollywood Celebrities<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chioma Chukwukah Akpotha’s watching her weight </span><br />WE have not seen leading Nollywood actress and Glo Ambassador, Chioma Chukwukah Akpotha, lately. One waka pass, who attended a presentation ceremony organised by Glo recently in Lagos, said the actress looked so trimmed that it would be hard for anyone to tell that she had ‘downloaded’ twice. In fact, we were told that the AMAA 2007 best actress in a leading role appeared in a size ‘small’ polo as against the size ‘extra large’ observers think she should be wearing based on the fact that she had visited maternity ward twice. True, waka pass was told that the Chioma that attended the presentation ceremony that day was looking as kinky as the Chioma that oga Akpotha married about four years ago. Nne, you may have to give ladies of your type a talk on how to look trim fit like you oooo. We don’t want to mention names, but I think people like … and ... will benefit a great deal from the secrets of your kinky look. We are sorting out issues of venue and date. But you can call us, as we will need your abstract for pre-workshop publicty. Nne, am sure you still have our numbers. Try the MTN or our NITEL line if you can’t reach us on Glo.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Segun Arinze is Omoni Oboli’s biggest fan</span><br />LEADING Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli, should count herself lucky that she has a huge fan in the deep actor and President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) Segun Arinze. The singer, voice over artiste and actor, whose real names are Segun Aina Padonu, admires Omoni acting abilities greatly. Or what else would make an actor, who should be concerned that he didn’t get a nomination or mention, call the secretariat of AMAA 2010 to find out why Omoni did not get a nomination in the leading actress category? In fact, the waka pass, who sold this gist to us, hinted that presido was on phone for several minutes on the matter. The only reason he advanced was that Omoni ought to be nominated since the movie, Figurine, was nominated in the best film and best directing categories and even Ramsey Nouah that sparred with her got a nomination. Anyway, we were told that he hung up when he was asked to see the other movies in contention and compare Omoni’s performance with those in nomination. We gathered that Presido laughed out loud when he was told by another waka pass, who saw the movie that the only time Omoni was prominent in the film was when she started ‘fighting Figurine’ and after that she slept for the better part of the film until the point she opened her eyes at the end of the film’. They said Presido was just answering ‘hum, hum’ meaning that himself fit never see the film wey him dey do lawyer on top so’. Not to we talk am ooo. But like dem dey say here:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">shaibu70@yahoo.com</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-89223805276244939242010-03-27T09:24:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:28:13.304-07:00The city of garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_QVNWhipccZjPyKC9aUuEDpKJ58iHe34VPDxRS0VxWSxrpbyjOcAJNo3rsPG9FwfGiGG71lVLKkG1GCElWhXhRnbB3hyfdJTAJmKAA_9uew33lJMLDGM_A_YGLdjP7b64yTFcRTFO74/s1600/Carniriv-15-'09.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_QVNWhipccZjPyKC9aUuEDpKJ58iHe34VPDxRS0VxWSxrpbyjOcAJNo3rsPG9FwfGiGG71lVLKkG1GCElWhXhRnbB3hyfdJTAJmKAA_9uew33lJMLDGM_A_YGLdjP7b64yTFcRTFO74/s400/Carniriv-15-'09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453350662553464290" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">IN September 2009, I was in Port Harcourt on two occasions, and something kept drawing me to the city. Last week, I had opportunity to be in the city again.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It was in the afternoon when my phone rang. It had gone on for some time before I picked the call. I was in the peak of production and was not ready to be distracted. My phone rang again. The caller this time was my friend in Port Harcourt.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> After some exchange of pleasantries, he asked: “Greg, how about seeing Port Harcourt this weekend?”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> In a spontaneous fit, I accepted an invitation to see the Garden City once more. But I was incredibly nervous. The image that flashed into my head was that of militants wearing headscarves and bandana dancing (maybe bobbing back and forth at best) in small tight circles, in a completely belligerent manner. There had been arguments as to whether security had really returned fully to the city.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I remembered that only recently Warri was rocked by bomb from a set of people, yet to be unmasked. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It was an opportunity to unplug, perhaps, step away from life in Lagos and explore the Garden City.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> By the time the plane touched down on the tarmac, my mind was fully prepared for the Garden City experience, which has always been exciting. I got into the city and everywhere was cool.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The country had witnessed relative coolness and many flights had been cancelled these past weeks.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> As soon as I got to GRA, my mind went straight to the roast yam, plantain and fish, a favourite menu in this part of the country, which I ate the last time I came.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">RIVERS State has a landmass of 11,077km? Its capital city Port Harcourt is one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in Africa; is strategically situated, making it an economic hub servicing the South East and South-South regions.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The state has two major refineries, seaports, airports including an international one, and is easily accessible by land, air, rail and sea.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Politicians seeking territorial relevance without building any basis for sustainable legitimacy resorted to encouraging misguided youths to form violent gangs, which they branded as “cults”. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> These criminal groups unleashed terror by day and night on law-abiding citizens in Rivers State. Indiscriminate killings, kidnapping and molestation of people where brazenly carried out. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Above all these were the inexplicable failure of the state (government at all levels) to enforce the law. The government was unwilling or unable to enforce the law. In consequence, near anarchy ensued and miscreants became laws unto themselves. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> This was the regrettable state of affairs before Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, assumed office in October 2007.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Upon assumption, the government had no doubt in its minds that the principal task before it was to restore law and order in Port Harcourt and in Rivers State as a whole.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It was clear from the on-set that the provision of security through the enforcement of law and order is the primary constitutional basis for the existence of government.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Ensuring the security of lives and property of its citizenry is therefore the highest responsibility of government. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Port Harcourt, with its robust nature, has a vibrant social life with booming entertainment that is well entrenched. Just like its steaming commercial pulse, its social life is on the upswing with numerous outlets.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">In the evening, my friend was in my hotel room. The time was almost 10pm and fear gripped me that I was going out in the city where “your next door neighbour may be a ‘kidnapper’, so I thought. The adventurous spirit in me urged me on. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> As soon as we drove out, my friend asked, “where do we go now?” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I was silent for some minutes. “Circular Avenue,” I heaved, remembering the place I stayed when I came for the Garden City Literary Festival.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Suddenly, the car came winding down the narrow Circular Avenue GRA, and rolled up to a halt in front of a popular hotel on the street. I was excited when I saw a troupe of ladies ‘mounting guard’ on the road. It was as if the whole girls in Port Harcourt had milled down to Circular Avenue. They were all there — all shades of colour and height. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “These people will make I good story,” I muttered aloud.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “I know you wanted to see the other side of Port Harcourt; its seamy side, but nonetheless a perfect way of saying that the Garden City is safe. Don’t you think so?” my friend said. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I nodded, “Yes!”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The night was crawling in gradually and I didn’t want to miss out of the human traffic in the avenue.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Later, we moved and our first shot was D’s Place, a sit-out in D-Line. We guzzled wine for the two hours we spent there; as we waited for the night to wear on.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> We sat in a far corner of the table and watched, as people streamed in and out. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">There was a characteristic note of intimate conversation between everybody. I was just interested in my drink. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> My friend left his seat to join them. My heart almost leapt out of mouth. I thought I would be introduced as a journalist, it would have meant there won’t be opportunity to have a little knowledge of nightlife in the city.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">WE left D’s Place about 12midnight for some other clubs, Baracuda, Casablanca, name them. We were everywhere. It was more like a rehash of previous visit. The clubs we visited were all located in almost the same enclave in GRA. Actually fees are not just fixed in Port Harcourt’s club. However, every good one has its fancies. Bongainvilea is not entirely on fees, it’s about being classy and there are few restrictions. Casablanca is really all-comers, but sometimes operate on moderate fees. Casablanca is one place to catch real fun.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> With a well established clientele and right balance. The girls are all gold diggers, like any place you get a mixed crowd so be firm, pleasant and select wisely.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Wine Bar is elitist and classy; The Wish is all-comers so also are Baracuda, Little Angels and Illusions. However, in all, your money tells your class and the class of girls you hang out with. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Besides, a bottle of beer or energy drink costs a baseline of N500 while a good wine or whisky goes for at least N6000; champagne is minimum of N30,000. The girls are very friendly, very hot, mostly clean, good fun and up for anything... at a price. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Some go as high as N10,000 per night, but those that enter Port Harcourt from Aba go for N5,000 or slightly less. You can drop into any of the clubs from Friday and it will be a pleasant environment to socialise. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> At Casablanca, we had great time. The music was pretty good, with the DJ offering up a mixture of local hip-hop and the standard rotation of RnB/Top-40 nightclub hits. We saw a lot of ladies, who looked like drug addicts, skin weathered by crack, with bodies squeezed into body-hugging dresses. There were girls shimmying their hips to hard-hitting hip-hop bass on the dance floor, and those flinging themselves, wholeheartedly. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">At about 4am when I got to my hotel, I was totally fagged out. I had somehow forgotten the reason for my visit. Port Harcourt now peaceful, come and enjoy the city.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Maybe the governor will confirm it. I was eager to hear from him the next day, which actually was when he will make a presentation to members of the Diplomatic Corps on security in Rivers State.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;">Amaechi: Why I go out at night without escort</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">THE governor said one reason he goes out to public places at night is to reassure residents of Port Harcourt that peace and nightlife have been restored to the state. Governor Amaechi,, who stated this Sunday night during a dinner with foreign envoys in Government House, Port Harcourt, said his free movement at anytime of the day was an indication that the security challenges were virtually over.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “If the security challenge is as bad as I hear, I will not take the risk of driving out in the night without escort,” Governor Amaechi said. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> He cited instances of his late night movements to visit places and people. He said that as a young man, he attends nightclubs sometimes, stressing, “I do that also to reassure the citizens that they are protected, first by God, and through human instruments put on ground by the state government for the safety of their lives.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The state’s Chief Executive thanked the envoys for honouring the state with their presence as they would exchange knowledge, which would lead to changing the perception about the state, adding that the assumption that whatever happened in the Niger Delta was in Port Harcourt was wrong.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> He gave an example of the bomb blast in Delta State, which was ironically said to be in Port Harcourt in some quarters, while the kidnap incidences in the neighbouring Abia State was also painfully attributed to be in Rivers State.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Responding on behalf of the envoys, the Ambassador of Czech Republic to Nigeria, Mr Jaroslav Siro, said Rivers State and Niger Delta are very important to Nigeria, which is a major economic as well as business partner to their countries.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Mr Siro said the international community appreciated the handling of the recent constitutional problem in Nigeria and hoped that future issues would be addressed maturely, especially the forthcoming general election in 2011, which they hope to be conducted in a transparent manner.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> He commended the Rivers State government for the initiative, and for what they are doing in the state, and urged the people to support the governor in achieving his laudable objectives.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-54646809617185524242010-03-27T09:09:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:17:10.928-07:00From Ikenga, honour to entertainment icons<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCtalkorVm-W1ouWiaKwkKgJHeU9ZSiQd2BU1STHY6e6sBsraJRLDKvxWo26xMwxgxPi6JZaImiru7OPxo2SOPwdw6KNmMQ_y8K4KUvu1GoGsbYdP_2BTOJ9qSFW1VvaX7j_TYZmkkfI/s1600/Shuaibu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCtalkorVm-W1ouWiaKwkKgJHeU9ZSiQd2BU1STHY6e6sBsraJRLDKvxWo26xMwxgxPi6JZaImiru7OPxo2SOPwdw6KNmMQ_y8K4KUvu1GoGsbYdP_2BTOJ9qSFW1VvaX7j_TYZmkkfI/s400/Shuaibu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453347936802802530" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >MD Ikenga, Chris Nwandu presenting the plaque to Shaibu Husseini at the Rutam House. In the background is veteran broadcaster and journalist, Benson Idonije<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" ><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">BY CHUKS NWANNE</span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">For their role in building the country’s entertainment industry to its present flourishing state, Ikenga Entertainment recently honoured some Nigerian media practitioners. Tagged the Society Entertainment & Style Editors Nite Of Honour (SESE Nite), the event, which was held at the White House, Toyin Street, Ikeja Lagos, brought together forerunners in the country’s entertainment industry under one roof.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Spiced with music performances by some up-coming artistes – a deliberate move by Ikenga to give young talents that desired opportunity to showcase their talents on a big stage – the award ceremony, which is in its first edition, was divided into four different categories; Sese Pointmen, Sese Icons, Sese Czars and the Post Humous award.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Among the 13 Sese Pointment awardees at the event include Ogbonnaya Amadi of Vanguard Newspapers, The Guardian’s Shuaibu Hussein, Azu Arinze of Encomium Magazine, Charles Nwagbara of Hight Society, Justin Akpovi-Esade of HiTV (formerly of The Guardian), Bola Salako of Silverbird, Tope Olukole of Nigezie and others.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Recipients of the Sese Icons awards include Kenny & D1 of Primetime Africa, Femi Akintunde Johnson (publisher Treasure magazine), Jacob Akintunde Johnson of Silverbird, Femi Sowoolu of Radio Continental, Kunle Bakare of Encomium magazine, Mayor Akinpelu of Fame Magazine and Ruth Osime of Thisday and The Guardian’s Jahman Anikulapo,</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Bashorun Dele Momodu (Ovation Magazine), Ladi Ayodele, Bisi Olatilo and Muyiwa Adetiba were among practitioners that got the Sese Czar awards, while Post Humous awards were presented in the memory of broadcaster Steve Kadiri, Ifeanyi Ikennor, Hakeem Ikandu and Wale Olomu.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Some dignitaries at the event include DG, Nigeria Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Emeka Mba, Charles and Amaka Igwe, Emma Ogosi, Dele Abiodun and a host of others.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Speaking during their visit to The Guardian to present awards to the duo of Jahman Anikulapo and Shuaibu Hussein, who were on official assignment as at the time of the ceremony, the president of Ikenga Entertainment, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, informed that, “the initiative is borne out a genuine need for us to identify media practitioners who have over the years, remained in the vanguard of promoting the phenomenal growth we have noticed in the entertainment industry in the area of movies, music, fashion and style, society and even comedy. Most of them have remained unsung, so we felt there is the need to celebrate them.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> In his acceptance speech, the Editor, Anikulapo, commended the initiators for their foresight, which he noted, would encourage young journalists in their quests for excellence in the field.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">“Chris is one of the people that played a vital role in music reporting in the country and I’m happy that he came up with this initiative. I don’t usually participate in awards events or fancy awards and generally, but I’ve watched Ikenga Entertainment for long now and I know their contributions to the industry. It feels good to be honoured by people from your constituency; I feel honoured by this award.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Anikulapo also charged the organisation to do more in the area of training for young reporters in the field.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">“That’s the only way we can get the best out of them. I think Ikenga can do more in terms of organising workshops and training for practitioners. A lot of the entertainment journalists concentrate more on writing about celebrities instead of reporting music and movies. I believe there’s urgent need to re-focus practitioners towards the part of professionalism and Ikenga is in the right position to do that,” he said.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-24055838957155403852010-03-27T09:03:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:09:03.291-07:00New laws of power<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Life Coach)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">THE world will stand still and listen when powerful people step to the centrestage and speak. Powerful people know their onions and seem to possess what makes other people to flock around them in numbers. If you care to learn the laws of power, then this article is written for you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Few days back, a friend of mine was in my room and after we discussed over some issues relating to my business, I went outside for a moment and returned to see my friend reading a copy of this article. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> He was so fascinated about the article that he began to ask me questions. He told me that he had been wondering why people like to flock around me; and that this article has answered the question.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> If you are ready to be a people’s person, if you are ready to talk and people will listen to you, if you are ready to make friends and influence people positively, then read on. I will share with you principles that will work for you because they worked for me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Go the extra mile for others. I realised that in life, the people that are more inclined to help you are those you have helped in one way or the other. This is coherent with the equity theory, which states that in every relationship, people evaluate their gains and pains. An average person wants to be friends with people that are better than them. That is, people they can gain from. A powerful person learns to make positive imbalances in his/her relationship with others by giving more than they receive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Be a giver. When you are always giving, the other person may feel indebted to you in some ways. Moreso, understand that every human may be selfish or self-centered by nature. Therefore, you may not expect others to make sacrifices for you when you have never sacrificed anything for them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">When you help others, you help yourself too. Remember that when you point a finger at the other person, the remaining fingers will be pointed at you. Renowned motivational speaker and writer, Zig Ziglar, says this: “You can get anything in life by helping enough other people get what they want.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Make history. Be a part of someone’s history. Some people come into our lives and go like that, while some come into our lives and make us better. Your success story may be incomplete without some people who gave you a helping hand when you felt like throwing in the towel. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Few years ago, I was at an event and Professor Pat Utomi was a guest speaker. He said: “There are two types of immortality; seeing God face to face, and living in the heart of men.” You can be immortalised in the hearts of men. It will be bad if after your physical death, everything about you dies. You can die physically, and still be alive, only in the hearts of men.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Be principled. One thing common to powerful people is that they are principled. They don’t just do something for the fun of it. They do everything they do for a reason. They know what they want in life and know exactly how to get it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Discipline yourself. Let people know your core values. Start now by identifying things that matter most to you in life, and prioritise that list.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Remember that being powerful is not about manipulating or oppressing others, but by understanding the new laws of power.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">agboolaa_coach@yahoo.com</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br />Your New Year resolution is still achievable</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Biz tool Kits)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY BRIDGET OLOTU</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">THE third quarter in the year is almost drawing to a close, and you might still wonder if there is need to talk about your New Year resolutions at this time. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> If you ever set a goal at all for 2010, this moment might just afford you the opportunity to pause and take a look at how much success you have made in reaching your objectives at this time. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> One thing is clear: we all woke up into the New Year thinking of how to better run our lives, make more money, achieve more success and make fewer mistakes. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> This means that New Year’s resolutions are decisions made to commit to change programmes in certain areas of our lives. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Whether you believe in making New Year’s resolutions or not, two things are clear: if you must leave where you are now, you must stop living the way you’ve been living your life or stop doing what you’ve been doing. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Jim Rohn put it strongly, “If you don’t like your life, change it. You’re not a tree!” You, as God’s created being, have the in-built capacity to change and transform your life. Two, even if you don’t make New Year’s resolutions as such, as long as you plan on the things to achieve for yourself in 2010, this article will be useful to you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Things you can do to still achieve your New Year’s resolutions in 2010. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Be specific and reasonable with the goals you set. Know what areas you want to change in your life in 2010 and then be reasonable about how you intend going about them. Set priorities. Start with small goals and work your way up to the big ones.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Don’t bite more than you can chew: Take it easy on yourself. You’re human, not a machine. Don’t set too many goals, which will then be hard for you to keep and cause you to fail and feel disappointed and hopeless. Make about two to three goals at a time. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Be very clear about the bad habits that you wish to kick out of your life or goals that you desire to achieve. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Write your goals down: After you’ve clearly realised and defined your weaknesses and bad habits, write them down in a notebook. Write down all your goals in a notebook. This will make you mentally and physically committed to taking action. Bad habits are all the behaviour and personality traits that block your way in life and make it difficult for you to achieve your dreams and ambitions. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Picture your goals daily: Read your goals at least twice a day, first thing in the morning and also before you go to sleep in the night. Mentally picture your goals. See yourself in your mind’s eye succeeding with all your goals and ambitions. Smile and tell yourself all the time that you have the willpower, the self-control and discipline to run your life and to achieve all that you desire. This is a good way to programme your mind and thoughts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Go for and obtain tools/resources that can help you actualise your goals and ambitions: You need to obtain the necessary tools and resources you require to make your goals and ambitions succeed. Information and its correct application is power. To search and obtain the right information is going halfway to solving your problems.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Read good books on subjects that can help you achieve your goals: The more you read good books, articles and magazines the more educated, intelligent and sharp you’ll be. You can find time to read. Any time you have free time, read a good book!</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Network with family members, friends and colleagues: Go out and meet your friends and discuss solutions to their problems as well as yours. Join clubs, associations and groups and mingle with others. Make friends with those who share in your passion and are going your direction! Be bold and communicate with others. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DeAim Innovative Resources Ltd, bridgetolotu@yahoo.com</span> </span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-22133953789631924742010-03-27T08:58:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:03:01.897-07:00Students protest at French Village<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEHz3Q3FObefMiEVqYCMC1sTpxQdo3wz4oA5AkHAG5Ig13gI9bewjJFKXtd2eVxJ_3j6TNWRxJEYKni2HASX0iQ39lFDiZr8cdszAdpyG2w6-EeX5KCgrnCULltqgQ_G9wLPgAjg88jw/s1600/protest.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEHz3Q3FObefMiEVqYCMC1sTpxQdo3wz4oA5AkHAG5Ig13gI9bewjJFKXtd2eVxJ_3j6TNWRxJEYKni2HASX0iQ39lFDiZr8cdszAdpyG2w6-EeX5KCgrnCULltqgQ_G9wLPgAjg88jw/s320/protest.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453344046031486194" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY DAYO ADESINA PETERS</span><br />ACADEMIC activities were paralysed in the Nigeria French<br />Language Village, Badagry, Lagos on March 15, when students<br />from different tertiary institutions undergoing their Year Abroad Programme, module and diploma studies staged a protest<br />against the authorities of the institution.<br /> The students, who were demanding for a better living conditionbegan their protest in the late hours of Sunday, March 14. It first started as a mild protest, which grew into a big one the next day, as students were unable to bath due to power outage and scarcity of water.<br /> The angry students closed the two gates leading into the school while they threatened to disrupt lectures until their demands are met.<br /> A student, who spoke to Life Campus, said: “This has been going on for long, since we resumed in January. Power supply has been unstable, and no water for us to do anything. We students are treated like dogs. We are packed in the hostels. Everything is so bad and yet we have paid our school fees, which covers all these facilities.”<br /><br />(Dayo is the E-in-C of the Union of Campus Journalists, UI. )<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><br />Panel on UNN riot submits report</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR, ABUJA</span><br />THE Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up to investigate the immediate causes of the January 16, 2010 violent students protest at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) recently submitted its report to the Federal Government. The panel also assessed the extent of damage caused by the demonstration.<br /> Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, while receiving the report on behalf of the government, expressed appreciation to the Governing Council and the management of the university for rising up to the occasion to pre-empt a situation, which would have meant a very long time closure of the university, and probably more devastating physical and psychological impact than it did.<br /> Though details of the recommendations contained in the report were not made available, Afolabi gave the assurances that the report would be studied and all necessary assistance will be given to the authorities of the university with a view to promoting conducive learning and teaching environment that would enhance academic activities.<br /> The report was in two volumes. Volume one contained the panel’s full report of investigations and recommendations, while the second volume contained the 34 Memoranda received by the panel.<br /> While commending the panel for timely submission of the report, Prof. Afolabi urged the management to be firm in implementing the panel’s recommendations.<br /> He also urged the Governing Council and management to pay priority to security in the university community to forestall such occurrences in the future.<br /> Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Samuel. O. Igwe, while briefing the Permanent Secretary, had said that what had been a peaceful demonstration by the students against rumoured increase in fees turned violent because some disgruntled elements in the university used the occasion to settle their grievances against the authorities.<br /> He confirmed that the institution had resumed full academic activities as well as started the implementation of the recommendations of the panel. Giving insight into the recommendations, the panel chairman, Chief Patrick Adaba said the recommendations when implemented would contribute immensely to the achievement of a better teaching and learning environment in the university.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><br />Nigerian scholar visits UA Fort Smith</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY TOPE TEMPLER OLAIYA</span><br />FULBRIGHT scholar, Dr. Femi Faseun will be at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith on March 29-31 to work with university and high school students and to perform at the International Festival on March 30. Dr. Henry Rinne, chair of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said one of the purposes of Faseun’s visit to the local campus is to conduct a workshop for student percussionists.<br /> “He will discuss how the drums function as a communications tool in the African culture,” said Rinne, “and he will also speak to an African history class. In addition, we have scheduled him for appearances at area civic clubs, where we expect him to address the Nigerian political climate as well.”<br /> Faseun will appear at International Festival 2010, scheduled for 5:30 to 8 pm on March 30 in the Stubblefield Center. Takeo Suzuki, executive director of international relations, said Faseun will be a special guest at the event and will perform on the drums. The festival has a $2 admission, with optional food tickets available.<br /> Faseun is currently a visiting Fulbright professor in the Department of Music at North Carolina Central University in Durham, where he teaches African music courses. He is a renowned music scholar who has published in both local and international journals and is the founding head of the Department of Theatre Arts and Music at Lagos State University, where he still lectures.<br /> Faseun, who has taught music in the university system acrossThe Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-81013936223681088582010-03-27T07:58:00.000-07:002010-03-27T08:57:56.682-07:00Investing in women<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_yRpm30cWAlmshzbNlkZOVWEst_duZnWYiVFsVec-kPiy6cNeelsRamYwgcv9oVC_cNXYr4jfRvHTDA48sgKD7jtAodNlU-rUjPllNXx1LDM2N87FP2KfvVuHE2PBUp8H-R2zDkXw1k/s1600/Rachel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_yRpm30cWAlmshzbNlkZOVWEst_duZnWYiVFsVec-kPiy6cNeelsRamYwgcv9oVC_cNXYr4jfRvHTDA48sgKD7jtAodNlU-rUjPllNXx1LDM2N87FP2KfvVuHE2PBUp8H-R2zDkXw1k/s320/Rachel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453343234115060274" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" > <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">BY OMIKO AWA</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Directing the affairs of a one-stop-travel shop, Dynax Travels and Tour, is Rachel Kayode-Adele, whose passion is to empower women so that they can engage in productive enterprises.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The lady, whose encounter with two Christian preachers, Jessy Dupliantis and Rod Passy, in her hospital bed in the United States of American made her leave her boutique business for travel agency, shares her experience with other women through the Thriving Business Women Fellowship (TBWF), a Christian interdenominational group.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Born the fifth child in a family of 12, nine girls and three boys, and a Business Administration graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Ida, she says, “my encounter in 2004 with Dupliantis and Passy, whom I listened to through a TV set while on hospital bed, made me leave clothes selling to establish Dynax in 2005.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Beaming with smile, she says, “though, I had flair for traveling and visiting places, that singular encounter made me to rediscover myself and start working on my passion for a living.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Married to Oluwakayode-Adele from Ondo State, the Esan, Irua native, came back home with little or no experience of travel trade, but had to go to a friend who put her through. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Armed with the right knowledge, she launched out her passion, working through the ranks to a level she now empowers women and single ladies. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Apart from being a successful businesswoman, Rachelsays “I love motivating people and reproducing myself. In fact, I believe a candle has nothing to lose by lightening up another candle, so, I encourage women to set up business outfits to help themselves and contribute to the finances of their homes. Many, who knew how I started, have come to understudy me and I have equally helped some of them to set up their businesses.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> This she has done through the platform of her fellowship, the TBWF.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Why work with only women? </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The mother of two says, “at TBWF, we also mentor single ladies, who are in courtship and getting ready to marry. We make them see reasons why they should be hardworking in their careers; and while pursuing their careers, how they can engage in meaningful business, no matter the size, instead of depending wholly on their husbands for every kobo that comes into the house.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Filled with emotions, she rells out reasons why women should to be empowered.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “I was privileged to know of someone that depended on the husband for everything she needed, but unfortunately, the man passed on. The in-laws, not minding the woman’s grief, sent her packing out of her matrimonial home with no means of livelihood. Also, women are always susceptible if the man’s economy is down, so, to avoid this we try to teach women how to catch fish instead of begging for it. We mentor young ladies to start on time so it could be part of them,” she says.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “We equally teach girls never to feel they are inferior to boys because they are girls, but to face the challenges of life as they come,” she says. “My father taught us to be confident and work to attain any height we desired in life; and that, I pass to the young ones.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Would this not make them to be headstrong to their husbands and abandon the care of the home and children?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The lady answers ‘no’. She says, “there has to be a balance between work and the family. Women should take time to attend to their family needs — home, children, husband and relatives. They should have time for the children; see to their home and school work, and not leave them to the whims of nannies or the school authorities. In fact, working will not make you lose trends of the home.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> She adds, “some businesses could be done without the woman leaving her home. Take the case of running a crèche or other services that could be provided to people in the neighbourhood. However, what matters is identifying your passion and working to fulfill it.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Using the virtuous woman of Proverb 31 in the Bible, CEO of Dynax Travel Agency says women are to honour and be submissive to their husbands to attend great heights.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “I don’t believe in women liberation or wife being equal to the husband, though God created us equally, He did not assign the same roles to us. Women are to be submissive to their husbands, no matter the height attained in business or in life. We are to honour and obey them, for any woman that disobeys this, has limited place in life. This is what we teach ourselves while impacting on the women.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> And the economy?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “Yes, there is recession, but this is not the first time it’s happening, and in spite of it, people are embarking on new projects. It’s during this period you build confidence and hope in the people, to strive for excellence. This is the main reason prayer should not be separated from business. In the fellowship, we combine praying and business; we also include our husbands in our prayers because a woman on her kneels puts her husband on his heel.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> On challenges faced so far, Rachel, who has through her motivational talks improved the lives of many of her members and those close to her, says, “ the most women are easily discouraged, when they try one or two businesses without success, they give up without knowing that profits come with efforts. They don’t know how to think outside the box. Business entails trying and trying.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> She adds, “electricity and getting funds from banks are challenges we face. Rachel adds, power outage makes us to run on generator, which increases our overhead cost thereby making output to be on the high side. The banks, too, are not making things easy, as loans are not always given to us. When we approached them, they promised to help, but ended up doing nothing. However, we have been raising our funds internally and things are working, but slower than it would have been if we had access to soft loans and regular electric power supply.” </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">How was growing up like? “I had fun. My late father was editor-in-chief of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Benin; he instilled in us confidence to succeed in life very early. He made us to believe that being girls do not make us less human. He made us to know that ‘we can be all, we want to be.”</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-59951290751944117332010-03-21T05:26:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:34:25.059-07:00Cover, Edition 229, Sun Mar 21 - 28<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKjz3Td79ENLM92R6VI6f9dL_u5GB_ZqSIW5o-fC_rZ1lGyVA0ZyrqCUX4HSTb4mkeJFumiM8hBacNpyfWtvhrFT6hvArxV56_5F3I9Os5dU8rnA-PoAnCiapPJYLJwMvB_joXcGUxdw/s1600-h/cover-229gif.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKjz3Td79ENLM92R6VI6f9dL_u5GB_ZqSIW5o-fC_rZ1lGyVA0ZyrqCUX4HSTb4mkeJFumiM8hBacNpyfWtvhrFT6hvArxV56_5F3I9Os5dU8rnA-PoAnCiapPJYLJwMvB_joXcGUxdw/s400/cover-229gif.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451063050927822882" border="0" /></a>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-59130462919854581702010-03-21T05:24:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:26:34.286-07:00Fruit confectionery market<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Biz tool Kits)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">LAST week, we started our series on fruit packaging business. This is the concluding part. The fruit confectionery market also consists of four product categories: Jams, jellies and preserves; Fruit rolls, bars, and snacks; Pie fillings and Fruit butter. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Liquid fruit juice drinks </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">These come in four different forms:</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Frozen concentrate: This is diluted with water after purchase.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Dry concentrate: This is also diluted with water after purchase.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Reconstituted liquid: This has been concentrated but is diluted prior to sale.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Unconcentrated beverage called Not From Concentrate (NFC). </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The latter two types are also known as Ready To Drink (RTD) juices.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The Manufacturing Process </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The process is as follows:</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Harvesting/collection</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Cleaning/Grading</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Extraction</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Concentration</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Reconstitution</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Pasteurisation</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Packaging/filling</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Byproducts/waste control </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Byproducts from fruit juice production come from the rind and pulp that is created as waste. Products made with these materials include dehydrated feed for livestock, pectin for use in making jellies, citric acid, essential oils, molasses, and candied peel. Certain fractions of orange oil, for instance, known as d-limonene, have excellent solvent properties and are sold for use in industrial cleaners.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Quality control</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Quality is checked throughout the production process. Inspectors grade the fruit before the juice is extracted. After extraction and concentration, the product is checked to ensure it meets a number of the nation’s quality control standards. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Target market </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Individual consumers: Infants, school children, adults —. Young adults, nursing mothers, working professionals, etc.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Corporate Consumers: Schools, business organisations, worship centers, marketplaces, eateries, posh and local restaurants, hotels, formal gatherings and events, parties and celebrations</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Technical and other requirements</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> NAFCDAC’s registration is important and inevitable to operate in this industry. Some manufacturers of bottling water machines have made the machines in such a way it can be used for both water and fruit juice production. But this has to be done under stringent supervision and care to avoid contamination of both products.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Income Potentials</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Let’s take for instance Lagos State with an unofficial population of about 18 million people (from the state’s website). If 25 per cent of this number take one form of bottled fruit juice product, this translates to 4.5 million potential customers. If this market consumes a bottle of fruit juice once a week, it means this market equals the sale of 18 million bottles a month and 216 million bottles a year from one state government in the country. Now, if you as a company produce 200 cartons of 12 bottles daily for 20 days in a month and 10 months in a year (to factor in capacity underutilisation) at N600 per carton, your monthly income would be worth N2.4 million and N24 million per annum and a profit in the region of about N11 million. Imagine if you’re selling your products in 6 more states in the country? And like I hinted earlier, you can combine this with your packaged water business. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Additional Information/Value Added</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">AS a value added for consumers, the addition of vitamins and other essential health-promoting minerals can help to further promote your brand in the market, making you the brand of choice for many Nigerian families who use your products for beverage and health purposes. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> For space constraints, to make a success of this business, you’d need a comprehensive business plan to guide you in the area of marketing, branding, technical and business architecture for the business, etc, so you can experience competitive advantage from the start. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The Future</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Future processing improvements are likely to come from the use of computer controlled sizing and grading of fruit. Fruit juice formulations will see changes as the trend towards adding more nutrition-oriented ingredients, such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, continues.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> In addition, future formulas are likely to be blends of fruit juices with other more exotic fruit flavours, or even vegetable juices, like carrot, like what is being done by fruit juice producing companies in the country today.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">bridgetolotu@gmail.com, Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br />You have all it takes</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Life Coach)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">JOHN Foppe, a renowned motivational speaker, has no hands. He has developed himself so much that he uses his leg to drive his car. His core message is that there is ability in disability.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> In the context of this article, a disable is someone, who is not using his talents to make a positive difference in the world. Nobody is disabled except the person, who has not discovered his place in the world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">What limits you is you. There are no limits anywhere. We only have limits in our minds, based on how we have been conditioned from childhood. When you don’t challenge your proposed limits, you will limit your ability to perform and achieve extra ordinary results that are mind blowing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">You are here on a mission. I told participants that they are created to solve a problem, and not to be problem to others. In other words, there is something only you can do. There is a problem that only you can solve. There is a solution that only you can provide. You need to uncover all your latent talents.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Don’t limit yourself. If you don’t limit yourself, then nobody can limit you. No one can limit you without your own permission. Do all it takes to achieve your dreams. Fly. If you can’t fly, run. If you can run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. If you can’t crawl, get someone to carry you. By every positive means, make something of your life.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Discover the real you. Who you are today may be a shadow of the real you. The real you is a champion. The real you is a celebrity. The real you is a superstar. The real you is a hero. The real you is a winner. The real you is unstoppable. You may not look like a success now, but time will reveal the real you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Create the future you want. Everybody leaves either by default or by design. Living by default means living your life the way it comes. If you wake up in the morning without a plan of how to spend that day, then you will be on the receiving end in the sense that things will happen to you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Make things happen. You can either be the object or the subject in life. When you are the subject, you determine what exactly you want. You create the circumstances that you desire. When you are the object, someone else is in charge of your life. Decide to happen to things. Don’t wait for things to happen to you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Be in charge of your life. Your life is your life, and when you don’t decide the kind of life you want to live, the society will decide it for you. Learn to live your own life positively. You can inspired by others. You can learn from others. But when you begin to look at other people’s life to determine your own, you are trying to become another person, and not you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Focus on what you have. The way to become successful is by capitalising on those things that you already have to live a better life. What you don’t have, you don’t have. So it is important to commercialise what you have a natural flair for. If you like to sing, you can make money from singing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Get customers. The profit you will earn from developing your natural endowment and making it profitable is dependent on how effective you are at getting people to be interested in your product/ services.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Learn to advertise. Let people know what you have to offer you and they will patronise you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Take action. Marketing yourself is not about knowing what you can do to make money alone. You have to wake up earlier make some calls, some handbills and send some e-mails. By all means, market your skill, and then you will smile to the bank.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">agboolaa_coach@yahoo.com</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-54652173341683335282010-03-21T05:20:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:23:42.998-07:00How not to teach Nigerian students<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY ISMA’IL ADAMU ISHAJOBI</span><br />THE day was Thursday, March 4. Time was 10pm. That was when Bimbo Aduke, 100 level student of the department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, realised she was lying on a sick bed and was actually on drip at the University College Hospital, UCH.<br /> She had fainted while receiving a Chemistry lecture, CHE 157, which was supposed to last for an hour from 5 to 6pm.<br /> From an eyewitness account, Bimbo stood in front of the dais because she could not secure a sit.<br /> Suddenly, she started feeling dizzy and as she tried to excuse herself from the pool of students, she fainted and was rushed to Jaja Clinic from where she was transferred to UCH.<br /> Four days later, a similar incident also occurred at the Agric Large Lecture Theatre, when Ife, another 100 level student of Forestry, fainted while receiving a lecture, Mathematics for Agric and Forestry (AGE 112).<br /> CBN is a lecture theater situated between Faculty of Science Lecture Theatre and department of Computer Science at the premier university.<br /> A structure built from a Central Bank of Nigeria grant of N30 million and commissioned on October 31, 2003 by the then governor of Oyo State, Senator Rasheed Ladoja.<br /> Seven years later, it does not look it. The facilities and furniture are in their end time. The reason is not farfetched. From its inception, it has always housed more than its capacity.<br /> Bimbo and Ife’s stories are just the tip of the iceberg of how hostile some lecture theatres could be when student converge for lectures.<br /> The irony of the whole issue is that those responsible cannot claim they do not know how the lecture theaters are always overstretched beyond their capacity.<br /> Prior to Bimbo’s incident, Prof. Adebowale, Dean of the Faculty of Science, had made several attempts to split the 100 level students receiving lectures in CBN into groups for conveniences, but this is yet to be realized.<br /> After Bimbo’s incident, Dr. Babalola, a lecturer from Chemistry department came to make the same announcement. The question then is; why wait until a casualty is recorded before taking a pragmatic step. After all it is lecturers who come to lecture in this same lecture theater and they see students packed like canned fish when they are supposed to sit comfortably as undergraduates.<br /> CBN is a true reflection of how the educational system in Nigeria has dwindled over time.<br /> In a situation where a student leaves his/her hall of residence as early as 6am for a class starting at 9am not because he or she wants to read but to secure a comfortable sit in the acclaimed ‘First and Best’ university is a tragedy.<br />niyas1985@yahoo.co.uk<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Lords of campus on the prowl</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >By Opeyemi Dibua</span><br />NIGHTLIFE on campus begins at sunset. In a way, the night fits into some people’s lifestyle such as attending shows and night parties, visiting female hostels, etc. It is the time when lectures are on hold and another life begins.<br /> These days, students don’t wait for the Student Union Government (SUG) to organise shows before they catch their fun. They hits the clubs every night, while those who do not fancy going outside the campus at night organise small hostel parties, which is always fun too. For the churchgoers, there is always a programme to attend every evening.<br /> At the dawn of late evening, different types of cars in different shapes and sizes invade the campus. As always, the owners have come to see their loved ones.<br /> Cars are parked at every dark corner, especially those close to female hostels daily between 7 and 11pm such that any day cars are not sighted, it is always glaring.<br /> Just recently, the student’s vigilante committee caught a man coming out of a lady’s room long after the deadline for male visitors. He claimed to have spent the night in his car and had only seen her host off to her room.<br /> According to the leader of the vigilante committee, Mr. Femi Ishola, “what he was doing at that time of the day in a lady’s room is better imagined than said.”<br /> Another incident occurred when a guy beat his girlfriend after she disappeared for two days. He asked where she was coming from and the lady said she was coming from her uncle’s place. “Oh, so that was your uncle who brought you back and kissed you for three minutes?” Before she could say anything else, a slap had landed on her face.<br /> During examination period, you are sure to observe a different chain of activities at night. These include suya and toasted bread joint, just to mention a few. There is also an astronomical increase in students’ population, also is the upsurge in joint and couple tutorials. Many others take delight in burning the midnight candle in the quest for academic excellence. They read until the night turns to day (TDB). Bukateria and cafeteria operators also join in the TDB, as kola nut sellers hawk till daybreak.<br /> Of special mention is the change in student’s appetite. Rice, which most males claim to be bird’s food because of its inability to quench hunger, becomes the number one staple for everybody, while heavy but sleep-inducing foods like bread, beans and yam records low demand. Those in the habit of eating eba twice a day re-adjust their diet, as all is at stake to scale the exam hurdle. <br /> Nightlife on campus is something that everybody looks forward to at the end of the day.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">magodoboy@yahoo.com </span> <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><br /><br /><br />Winners emerge on Zain Africa Challenge </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY TOPE TEMPLER OLAIYA</span><br />ZAIN Nigeria has announced the first batch winners in the Home Viewers Game segment in the on-going pan African television quiz show, Zain Africa Challenge.<br /> The segment is a feedback platform created to allow viewers test their intellectual aptitude during the quiz contest, also affording them an opportunity to win fantastic prizes such as high-end phones, Internet data card and airtime.<br /> According to Head, Corporate Communications of the company, Emeka Oparah, nine winners emerged from the first episode after providing the correct answer to a singular question asked during the show, adding that the answers were sent as SMS (Short Message Service) to the short code: 35056.<br /> While commending the winners for the feat, Oparah said the initiative is designed to excite Nigerians as well as give customers an opportunity to win big in the academic competition, stressing that his company will always look for opportunities to reward Nigerians in the contest.<br /> The winners from the first episode were: Oluwadamilare Sadiq, Shodipo Lekan, Dayo Adebayo, Stanley Okeke and Yeni Ajayi. Others include Ubani Michael, Olubiyi Sunbi, Nnabuife Ikechukwu and Adebimpe Obadan.<br /> The fourth season of the Challenge is televised every Monday on STV by 8pm; Wednesdays on NTA by 8:30 pm and Thursdays on AIT by 7:30 pm. The contest is also broadcast across the whole of Africa on the DSTV satellite platform on Magic World on Monday at 7:30 pm; on Africa Magic Plus on Tuesdays at 9:20 am and 6:20 pm, and Wednesdays at 12:30am.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-28495374282377911502010-03-21T05:15:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:20:34.610-07:00For the poet, they gathered<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0X0UviuR4xT4nToxxckwRyrs5ALB7YDjVXqO8JJV5brSVy2jn6iXjjjFGds6ShCKTNTqvdksvIO5LAeWMO18R0KPjOlDYxre0auhTXfPMa2UNrqv2iywrLPLJIdhrKhvRTv2ooBjvMM/s1600-h/odia-2.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0X0UviuR4xT4nToxxckwRyrs5ALB7YDjVXqO8JJV5brSVy2jn6iXjjjFGds6ShCKTNTqvdksvIO5LAeWMO18R0KPjOlDYxre0auhTXfPMa2UNrqv2iywrLPLJIdhrKhvRTv2ooBjvMM/s400/odia-2.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451060388621582738" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(L-R) Odia Ofeimun; Guest lecturer, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani; Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chairman of the event; and Ambassador Segun Olusola, Chairman, African Refugees Foundation.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">FOR the poet, Odia Ofeimun, it was a birthday well earned last Tuesday, March 16, 2010, as the world gathered to celebrate his 60th birthday. The event, which drew elite, artists, family and friends was organised by Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), in collaboration with Odia Ofeimun Committee of Friends.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The celebrations started in the morning with a lecture at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The Director General of CBAAC, Prof Tunde Babawale, in his welcome address, explained the parastatal’s primary decision to collaborate with the Odia Ofeimun Committee of Friends, “in recognition of the celebrant’s sterling qualities and his contributions to scholarship, arts and culture.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The CBAAC head went on to underscore Ofeimun’s contribution to human capital development.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> “As a poet, Ofeimun’s verses initiated a paradigm shift in the ethics and aesthetics of the poetry of socio – political engagement in Nigeria,” he said.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Entitled Sudan and Congo: What lessons for Nigeria? and delivered by the Columbia University, USA, scholar, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani, the lecture renewed the search for all-inclusive reforms in all key institutional frameworks that hold the country together.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The guest lecturer was unequivocal in his recommendation: “One lesson of Congo and Sudan is that it may be time to rethink the legacy of both the colonial past and the reforms you (Nigerians) undertook to end the civil war.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The evening event was a festival of culture, poetry, music and dance. There were poetry renditions by Chike Ofili, Jumoke Verissimo, Toyin Akinoso and Remi Raji. There was also dance drama presentation by Crown Troupe of Africa led by Segun Adefela and performance of The Feast Of Returns — a drama by Odia Ofemiun and directed by Felix Okolo</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Highpoint of the event was cutting of birthday cake by the celebrant and a few friends and colleagues.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Odia, a native of Iruekpen in Ekuma, popularly known as Ekpoma, was influenced by his grandfather to embrace education at an early age. This marked the beginning of his obsession for knowledge.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> With his exposure to literature and works of critics of religion and society such as Tolstoy, Rousseau, Obafemi Awolowo, and Wole Soyinka, the bible and even quoran, he became an accomplished writer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Odia, who wanted to be a Chemical Engineer, but was forced to abort that dream after the death of his father, won the Nichols Fonlon prize in 2010. </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QsvDKUYsrIuqjoDeH7_QJa9VCbl7uRl9ptGFrYOLs-bXBeJ7ZTz7XMGe3yGBTh-6ejaVvkd5gOTvNVuOg4ESeuwzVwZbxQK5qEGK4RDeDNdYoccP8_xzZm3q68uH9m4VJM-fJZ1eMFQ/s1600-h/Odia.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QsvDKUYsrIuqjoDeH7_QJa9VCbl7uRl9ptGFrYOLs-bXBeJ7ZTz7XMGe3yGBTh-6ejaVvkd5gOTvNVuOg4ESeuwzVwZbxQK5qEGK4RDeDNdYoccP8_xzZm3q68uH9m4VJM-fJZ1eMFQ/s400/Odia.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451060613181912610" border="0" /></a>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-47464975463789962172010-03-21T05:13:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:15:22.262-07:00If it is comfy, it’s...Biola<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiOLVgabMdMisE3xESGpG6Fip2EuBR8kK0W8YOgdQdWuOLaRzrtpLQ17x7s_5xpq51OXUgh9dEImbapBQ32pKNNUPl4Ht9gN_TEvH7HIXJ3acvyUWgX1PxQ4mvIVeWLOMGGjMVqawo8o/s1600-h/Celeb.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiOLVgabMdMisE3xESGpG6Fip2EuBR8kK0W8YOgdQdWuOLaRzrtpLQ17x7s_5xpq51OXUgh9dEImbapBQ32pKNNUPl4Ht9gN_TEvH7HIXJ3acvyUWgX1PxQ4mvIVeWLOMGGjMVqawo8o/s400/Celeb.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451059157324407218" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOLA Boris </span>is a model. Her career on the runway started when she left secondary school. While still waiting for admission into university, the Lagos State-born lady and the last of her parents’ five children had begun to strut the runway with ease and confidence, which surprised many . The graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management (IRPM), who is pursuing a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs at the University of Lagos, began her modeling career with Dakova, who gave her the first break because he liked her shoulder, which he called Hanger. The multiple awards winner — The African Face (LASU), The Best Runaway Model in Abidjan and an achievement awards from the Nigeria Next Super Model in 2009 — tells <span style="font-weight: bold;">KEHINDE OLATUNJI</span> what fashion is to her.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">What is fashion to you? </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It is embedded in style. It is a trend that builds an individual’s personality; it says who you are and what you represent.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Style of dressing </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> My style is less or more. It’s what makes me comfortable, but I prefer make up from professionals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Favourite piece of clothing</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> My little black dress, couple with my high heel sandals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Signature scent</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> D&G.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Favourite designer</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Dakova. His style is embedded into a whole lot of sense.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Turn on</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Honesty brings tears to my eyes; it humbles my spirit and gets me drawn to people even if the truth hurts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Turn off</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Stealing, I hate a thief with passion.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Your opinion of the country’s fashion industry</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> It evolved from where it was to where it is now. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Role model</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Naomi Campbell, Mrs. Joan Okorodudu, Dakova, Modella and Frank Osodi. These people have made huge contribution to the industry and to the life of the upcoming models and I also wish to make greater impact.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Social life</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I enjoy dancing, so, I do it in church and sometimes, once in two months, I go clubbing and also I like meeting people. However, I’ll say I’ve got a limited number of friends and countless acquaintance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Leisure time</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I play basketball, dance, listen to music and read books. I also give back to the society by giving free grooms to upcoming models in the country.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Philosophy of life</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Silence is golden. The less you say, the more intelligent you appear.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">What would you like to change in Nigeria?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I will wage war against corruption. The war will start from tertiary institutions and end up at government parastatal.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-51533609179721417232010-03-21T05:08:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:12:18.758-07:00Code for work<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KPY8c7Z8jgEDZr1goFykOOKni7rk9AE5pXTpZ8KP1h_NnEk6MBhWltsuOKqDmSX7rg3HrMlX5VCgbHVluBxq7A-bPahyKR90q1m-zAgLY1p81EfXeJouRWrweMzqAIciixfuNlo3ZUc/s1600-h/Kemi.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KPY8c7Z8jgEDZr1goFykOOKni7rk9AE5pXTpZ8KP1h_NnEk6MBhWltsuOKqDmSX7rg3HrMlX5VCgbHVluBxq7A-bPahyKR90q1m-zAgLY1p81EfXeJouRWrweMzqAIciixfuNlo3ZUc/s400/Kemi.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451058300376550450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY KEMI AMUSHAN</span><br />DRESSING for work, sometimes, is very difficult, as there are tendencies to dress down or exaggerate appearance. <br /> Clothes that work well for beach, dance clubs, exercise sessions, and sports contests may not be appropriate for a professional appearance at work.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Many offices, however, to save situation, draw up dress codes for their employees. These are actually issued out on assumption of office. Items that are not appropriate for the office are listed, too. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The list will reveal what is generally acceptable or not as business casual attire.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> No dress code can cover all contingencies, so employees must exert a certain amount of judgment in their choice of clothing to wear to work. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> If you experience uncertainty about acceptable, professional business casual attire for work, ask your supervisor or your Human Resources staff because they are the ones that lay down the rules.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The following rules should be considered when thinking of work clothes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Clothes that reveal too much cleavage, your back, your chest, too much of your legs, your stomach or your underwear is not appropriate for a place of business, even in a business casual setting.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Clothes should be well ironed and not rumpled. Torn, dirty, or shabby clothing is unacceptable. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• No thread should be hanging out from your dress. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Any clothing that has words, terms, or pictures that may be offensive to other employees is unacceptable. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Clothes that have company’s logo are encouraged. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Certain days can be declared dress down days, generally Fridays. On these days, jeans and other more casual clothing, although never clothing potentially offensive to others, are allowed.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Slacks and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel pants, dressy, capris, and nice looking dress synthetic pants are acceptable. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Inappropriate slacks or pants include jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, shorts, leggings, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants such as people wear for biking.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-31166277137878440102010-03-21T04:59:00.000-07:002010-03-21T05:08:12.719-07:00SNAPSHOTS on runway<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OUrSm-QdVcPB933dp1Ci-OMqp9TBA8BmuKvv7hLlzcSuLtrCfOP1-GZYETTL6nFiIC1Aabdq7OVOPy_dwzFa54Dch3Gzhiysatimc0NugaLtegqsBYxfz73pF6ehoN5NL9h6fTerq08/s1600-h/snashots.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OUrSm-QdVcPB933dp1Ci-OMqp9TBA8BmuKvv7hLlzcSuLtrCfOP1-GZYETTL6nFiIC1Aabdq7OVOPy_dwzFa54Dch3Gzhiysatimc0NugaLtegqsBYxfz73pF6ehoN5NL9h6fTerq08/s400/snashots.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451056587957424866" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >BY OYINDAMOLA LAWAL</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">SNAPSHOTS, the creative Unit of Covenant Christian Centre (CCC), recently, organised a fashion show for 15 new and upcoming designers who are members of the church at the Lagoon Restaurant, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Tagged X, Y & Stars, the event, conceived as one of the creative projects of the Church, aimed at augmenting existing efforts that would raise the fashion industry in the country. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) also supported the programme while Iman Cosmetics provided all cosmetics.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The Coordinator, Dr. Gbenga Kuponiyi, said: “X stand for Ladies, Y for men and little stars for children. The church is a part of everyday people from all walks of life. Our models and designers are taken from the church. Consistently, we want people to learn how to fish and not to fish for them. This show is giving them a platform to learn in the fashion industry and network.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Held on St. Valentine’s Day, the show started with an Orange Carpet, which lasted for about two hours (3-5pm).”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> He added, “ we have not restricted the designers to the colours of Valentine, rather we have left them to their imagination.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">Stars on the runway</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">APART from showcasing creative and artistic works of up-coming designers, the show had celebrities such as Yinka Davies, Rooftop MCs, Obiwon, Chioma Chukwuka, Iretiola Doyle, Folorunsho Alakija, Segun Arinze, David Uba, Bayo Haastrup, Omowunmi Akinnifesi, president of FADAN, Prince Oyefusi and Bouqui, and others on the runway in trendy designs.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> They all rock the runway in glamorous and mouthwatering outfits-- from different designers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">The Designers</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">THE designers that showcased their outfit include partner Aduka Design, Wunmieo Couture (WC), Rhobes Couture, Lisk Couture, El-Karis Clothing’s Accessories, Ikole Creations, Nu Studios, Simple and Beautiful Collections, JLM Clothing, Diadem Finishing “Ethel Bunting”, Nude fashion, Ay- Fad’s Bespoke, Beauty John (BJ Design), DM Pieces and Bhezhaleel Options.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Each of them showcased mouth blowing outfits ranging from ruffles to high waist, patches, empire, boubou, kaftan, flare, one-shoulder dress, suits, drippy dress, shirts, pants, pleats and puff to mention a few.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> There was good use of colours combination; fabric mixing and the designs were exclusive.</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-86139501397031687952010-03-21T04:55:00.000-07:002010-03-21T04:59:10.107-07:00Jos keeps talking<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Strictly for the young)</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">BY TOSYN BUCKNOR</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">ON Tuesday, March 16, several young men and women travelled to Abuja, and joined those already in Abuja, to say, Enough is Enough. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> These young men and women left school and work, took the day off, went to the National Assembly, and demanded to be heard. Enough is Enough they said. We do not have electricity (we would have said stable electricity but really!), water, and more. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> And now, when there isn’t some form of violence in Jos, it is State Houses getting blown up. As if that was not enough, nothing is ever said to us. Not about the state of the President’s health, nor what steps are being put in place.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Enough is Enough was not only a peaceful rally in Abuja. It was also a trending topic on twitter, as those who were there kept those who were not there updated, while those, who could not be there physically, showed their support on the social networking site. There were facebook status updates and notes, and blog posts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The Nigerian young adult was speaking.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> And they were demanding to be heard.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">DID they get heard?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Not by the people they were trying to talk to. Sources say the speaker of the House left the building, possibly to avoid speaking with the teeming youth at the gate, who were first cordoned off by police, but managed to fight their way through (peacefully, thankfully).</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> But they were heard!</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> They were heard by their peers who were either supported or felt it was a waste of time. They were picked up by conventional media, including Channels Television, this paper, and CNN. And they were definitely heard everywhere else!</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">They will keep talking. But some say talk is cheap.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> The other day on my radio show, I asked a simple question. What can the young person in Nigeria do, to be heard, to get change, to move Nigeria forward?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I will s.h.a.r.e with you some of the answers we got!</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Vote. Even when it feels like it does not matter. Vote. We didn’t vote the last time. So can we really talk now?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Keep talking. Talk is cheap, and so it should be used. Seminars! Symposiums! Every medium open to us! Talk about it</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Stand for election. This is interesting! For we see young people in law, in music, in movies, in fashion... but where are the policy makers? Where are the young people in governance and politics? (or politricks)</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Pray. Seems so simple, and possibly too simple. But it never hurt anyone to get down on their knees, or stand up, or raise their arms up and just offer up a simple sincere prayer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Listen. And learn. So how did we get here? Are we asking? Are we learning? Or are we just accepting the status quo and imbibing the very habits we condemn. How many of those at the rally have paid, will pay, or will collect, a bribe? How many have cheated their fellow man? How many young people abuse the positions they are in? How many people cheat during JAMB? How many? How many pay taxes (even though we do not see the corresponding rewards. If I pay, I should be paid!). How many young adults are truly ready to change the status quo? How can we be a voice where words are short?</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">THINGS seem futile sometimes, and in all honesty, there are days I sit and wonder what will happen, and how I fit in. But I do know that we cannot fit in by burying our heads in the sand, not speaking out, and hoping it will all blow over.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">We must sing, speak, stand. Do something.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> And as for Jos... It could happen to any state. So with this, we plead-</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Jos’t stop the violence</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Jos’t keep the peace</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">• Jos’t see the bigger picture</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">tosinornottosin@yahoo.com</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">‘Stucked’ and other Nigerian words</span><br />(Just Life)<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY OMOLIGHO UDENTA</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">IN one of his songs, the musician, Lagbaja sings ‘English no be your mother tongue ... so ta bon...’ and sometimes, it seems quite clear that some of us take this seriously and proceed to ‘ta bon’ almost gleefully.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Take for instance the time I first heard this new word, ‘stucked’, I was sure the speaker had made a mistake and was soon going to correct himself, but I waited in vain. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I am sure that if we’d been talking about the weather or something equally mundane, he might have been able to notice his error, but alas as we were talking about our very own ‘man in Purdah’ (to quote a newspaper headline), otherwise known as ‘The ‘Sicking’ President’ (as against ‘The Acting President’), his emotions got the better of him.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> ‘I really feel for the man. He has been ‘stucked’ to machines and being in one place for over three months now,’ he said.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> ‘Em, oh yes,’ I muttered mainly to myself as I struggled to unravel and ‘re-piece’ (my Nigerian word) together the sentence.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> ‘And where did they ‘bought’ the billion naira ambulance for him, eh? They have ‘waste’ so much money,’ he continued as he gesticulated furiously.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> By this time, he was getting more agitated and I was sure this could only get worse because usually most of us are less able to control ourselves when we get worked up. I didn’t have very long to wait before he continued.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> ‘Prices of everything have go up because fuel queues is everywhere, people are died in Jos and the man (otherwise known as ‘The ‘Sicking’ President’) have not even ‘spoke’ to us!’</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I quickly found something that needed my urgent attention because trying to decipher what he meant whilst also trying to keep a straight face was almost killing me. As soon as I left, I heard someone else say, ‘Yels oh! The whole something is just ‘disturb’ me!’</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">LATER that day, my little boy, aged three, asked ‘Mummy did you ‘bought’ this for me?’ and I laughed and laughed especially when I remembered the 40-plus year old man I had been speaking with earlier who could very well have made a sentence like this one. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> As I corrected my little boy, I couldn’t help thinking that it just goes to show the level of decay in our educational system along with everything else. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Electricity supply is ‘babbas’ (another Nigerian word), we lack good, affordable healthcare for all, we have arguably the worst roads in this hemisphere, etc.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Last week, I was speechless when I saw the horrible photograph which was making the rounds showing a scene from an accident/robbery attack. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> This week the photographs from Jos have been indescribable. To think that we could do this to ourselves is mind-boggling, shocking.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> We have so very many issues to deal with in this nation and the last thing we need is a ‘Sleeping President’ who perhaps needs a kiss from his ‘Mrs Charming’ to reawaken.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">omoudenta@yahoo.co.uk</span>The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6799204901119924222.post-28991807235017917172010-03-21T04:49:00.000-07:002010-03-21T04:55:37.631-07:00Art...weapon against imperialism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAj5PKNuPuUcyu_cH8bjTb7VjJOvrM9LoIh9zvlbmiJqY8rU79p0wAFszyJdQECQKBMwC5xBqaEDGITxTRpCIGk4BHDKhqqkENyTbkHd8_h1X8Y_i9u0t-eNBena0UH5rQ_oT0wfGCBmM/s1600-h/Peju-Layiwola-2.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAj5PKNuPuUcyu_cH8bjTb7VjJOvrM9LoIh9zvlbmiJqY8rU79p0wAFszyJdQECQKBMwC5xBqaEDGITxTRpCIGk4BHDKhqqkENyTbkHd8_h1X8Y_i9u0t-eNBena0UH5rQ_oT0wfGCBmM/s320/Peju-Layiwola-2.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451053376556621634" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >BY TAJUDEEN SOWOLE</span><br />Having devoted nearly 20 years to a cause, Peju Layiwola looks forward to using Nigeria’s 50th Independence Day celebrations to showcase her ancestral link to global cultural objects.<br />Called Benin 1897.com: Art and the Restitution Question, the show will feature paintings and installations.<br />To be declared open by HRH, Edun Akenzua, the Enogie of Obazuwa, the show runs from April 8 to 30 at University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka and would continue in Ibadan and Benin till the end of the year.<br />Layiwola, grand-daughter of Oba Akenzua II (1933-1979) and daughter of sculptress, Princess Elizabeth Olowu, says, “they, who once enjoyed the splendour of the palace, are now trapped behind glass walls in foreign lands.”<br />The year 1897, she recalls, “means much to me and my people. It was the year the British invaded our land and forcefully removed thousands of our bronze and ivory works from Oba Ovonramwen’s Palace, my great grandfather.”<br />She may not possess the skill of Hollywood’s John Rambo to break the glass walls of the so called “universal museum” and rescue the objects, but she has got art to give the captors enough sleepless nights.<br /><br />In such works as the installation, Unpainted Calabash, an assemblage of large gourds; 1897.com, inlaid copper, brass, wood, animal horn, and paper; Long live the King, painted version of the calabash series; Layiwola adds art as a resilient medium against modern day imperialism.<br />And just in case you are not seeing enough of the visual art venom, “a colloquium and publication by nine scholars drawn from across the globe” is part of the tour.<br />Layiwola, in recent times, has added her voice to this cause at a global event, which had her ancestral subject in focus. The event was the closing ceremony of the exhibition, Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria held in Chicago, U.S. two years ago, where she delivered two lectures.<br />On return to Nigeria, she revealed that, in the US there were several protests against the persistent refusal to return Benin works held in foreign museums.<br />According to her, “the protests in Chicago brought about a decline in the number of art forms showing at the Art Institute.”<br />Layiwola argues that similar pressure groups can be set up in Nigeria. She notes that collaboration between Nigerian government and Benin Royal family, is all that is needed to bring the antiquities back to Nigeria.<br />Strengthening that cause back home is her effort to take 1897.com on tour. “After the Lagos show, is “Ibadan from August 19 to September 19 at the Museum of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.” And at a date yet to be announced, Edo State government will be hosting the show”, she explains.<br />The message, she adds, is also important for the youths, as such, the show will run for about two months, to enable as many primary and secondary schools pupils and students to partake in it. Workbooks for students, she notes will be made available for free at the venue. And in the painting, Long Live the King, the young ones are not left out, because it’s child friendly.<br />Supporting the project are; The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Edo State government, the universities of Lagos and Ibadan, and the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja.The Guardian Life magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10139361864578417906noreply@blogger.com0