Cover, Edition 189, June 14-20, 2009

‘I Play Like A Man, And Win Like A Woman’

BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR AND RITA ANWARAH

THE atmosphere is tensed. The sun is above the head and slowly emits heat. A lot of people are walking on the long stretch of road leading to the popular Ladipo Market, Oshodi, with concern in their faces. Toyosi Akerele sits behind the steering, fuming. Her face is grey with anger. She comes down from the car and shouts: “You?… Deflate my tyre? No…You can’t try it!”
For close to five minutes, Toyosi looks in bewilderment, as the policeman makes to deflate her tyre. “I say it again, if you try that nonsense, you’ll regret ever doing so.”
Her anger still standing on edge, she barks out in Yoruba, “O mo nkankan — You don’t know anything…”
After some minutes, the charged temper returns to normalcy, as some other policemen and passersby intervene.
After some minutes, Toyosi, a development strategist and founder of Rise Network, a youth concern drives away. She had visited The Guardian to discuss her network’s forthcoming youth forum, which holds on Saturday before the encounter with policemen over where to park or not.

THIS afternoon, she is more relaxed as an earlier interview could not hold. Having had two successful youth discovery fora, Dare To Be Different, this year’s theme has been tagged Our Time Is Now.
“This year’s forum is targeted at increasing the level of awareness among corporate organisation on the potentials of young people, inspiring a higher level of self-esteem and confidence, re-branding Nigeria, and changing the ’wait for your time’ mentality of Nigerians,” she says with a bright smile.
Toyosi heaves, pausing for a moment to bring out a flier from her drawer. She retorts, “Dare To Be Different is a forum where young people from different disciplines come to hear from those who have excelled and established themselves, wisdom nuggets, which will birth in them, a greater vision for life.” She adds, and “inspiring them to greater heights as they ascend the ladder of success.”
She mops the bead of sweat that encircles her face. She says, “the forum begins on June 20 and ends on October 24. Due to the level of response of young people from around the country to the past forum, this year’s event will hold in eight cities across the country. They are National Stadium, Lagos on June 20, Owerri will host the forum on July 4, Enugu is July 18, Benin will be August 1, while Kaduna is August 15, Ibadan (September 5), Abeokuta (September 9) and Abuja on October 24.
The rotation of the sessions is to re-kindle the vibe in every section of the state visited. She demurs, “the issues to be discussed at the forum are those that affect the young Nigerians such as sex, prostitution, internet fraud (yahoo-yahoo), re-branding of Nigeria and future plans for Nigeria.”
She says that action is a natural consequence of knowledge. “To ensure that Nigerian youths act better, it is pertinent that they know more. To this end, we aim at informing and generally educating the majority of Nigerian youths on such potent issues as the wider implications of sexual, political and economic exploitation on their development among other salient issues; we seek to draw up strategies to address all such problems that militate against youth in all ramifications; to make necessary recommendations to appropriate quarters such as corporate organisations and government in ensuring adequate and timely recognition of the highly effective role of youths in nation building and leadership structures and to inspire a higher and considerable level of self esteem, determination and confidence in the Nigerian youth.”

WEARING a smile, which glistens, she says, “the major achievement of the forum is that it has increased the level of awareness and self-discovery on the part of the young Nigerian.”
A strong aura wraps her, as she speaks. “I’m a passion driven lady. I’ve never seen myself as a second class citizen. So, I’ve always had the ‘I can do it’ spirit. I play like a man, and win like a woman,” she says.
The 25-year old lady says that finance has never been challenge for the forum. She explains, “RISE is not an NGO, it’s a business, a marketing consultant for youth development. Now, we have a new scheme called ‘RISE Business Skill Academy’, which currently has trained over 500 people in various programmes conducted by the academy; they are currently partners with ‘KARROX’, a leading Indian company in computer training.”
Toyosi says in a husky voice, “an analysis of Nigeria today will surely spotlight the youth as comprising the major driving force of the economy, when adjudged in both lights of skill and consumption. The essence of Dare To Be Different national interactive youth forum is one of the ways we are projecting more than just helping them.”
She adds, “we are like minded young people making sincere efforts to distance ourselves from the urban blight and the everyday drama and trauma in our communities. We are trying to distance ourselves from situations that are ready to rob us of the true opportunity to develop our natural potential. A country where the energies and dreams of the young generation to change the world is summed up and channelled towards purposeful endeavour in an atmosphere that encourages the free flow of ideas.”

BILLED to inspire the participants this year are top business executives, corporate giants and public servants such as Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, Mr Gamaliel Onosode, Chief Michael Adeojo, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, Mr. Tayo Aderinokun, Dr. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ibru, Chief Cosmas Maduka, Mr. Ben Bruce, Dr. John Momoh, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, Mr. Bola Akingbade, Mr. Foluso Phillips, Mr. Fela Durotoye, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Dr. (Mrs.) Doyin Abiola, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, Mr. Toyin Subair, Dr. Balarabe Musa, Hon. Farouk Lawan, Hon. Abike Dabiri, and Mrs. Eugenia Abu, Tara Fela-Durotoye, to mention just a few. Also, Alibaba and Austin J.J. Okocha are guest speakers.
She says, “the aim of inviting this calibre of speakers is to inspire young people with their success stories because these people worked hard for their money and are qualified to be role models.”
The masters of ceremony are Funke Akindele, U.C. Ukeje (winner of Amstel Malta Box Office 2008) and others, while sponsors of this year’s forum are MTN (lead sponsor), First Bank, Interswitch, Macleans, Nescafe and Nigerian Bottling Company.

THE first of four children, Toyosi was born on November 8, 1983. She attended Ebun-Oluwa Nursery and Primary School, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos and Lagos State Model College, Kankon, Badagry for her junior secondary, and Egbado (now Yewa) College, Ilaro, Ogun State for her senior secondary education. At 19, she was the Deputy Speaker of the Student Union Government (SUG) of the University of Jos, during, which she organised a programme called the Unijos Female’s Day, the first of its kind in any Nigerian university. She is a trained lawyer.

The beat of Marsalis

There is no doubt that Marsalis is one of the greatest figures in jazz. Continually pursuing his goals of recording and performing music at the highest level, as well as educating today’s youth, he is indeed worthy of all the recognition he has received so far and will undoubtedly continue to receive – if he continues to do what he is doing.

BY BENSON IDONIJE
SOME critics have described Wynton Marsalis as the rallying point for the new jazz, one of the greatest figures in jazz and the inspirer of the jazz that happened from the 1990s till date.
Much as I respect the views of knowledgeable critics, most of whom see these things from their own personal and individual perspectives, it must be said that it is not true that Wynton is at the top of the scene of the 1990s to 2009.
As for being a rallying point; it is a possibility in view of the fact that he is the artistic director of the acclaimed jazz at the Lincoln Centre programme, New York City. By virtue of his role at the centre where he nurtures and directs today’s young jazz musicians, he could be said to be a rallying point, a motivator. But this does not in any way suggest that he is the inspirer of the jazz that has been happening since the 90s.
Even though Charlie Packer died in 1955, till today,
his music still inspires, in fundamental terms, the jazz that was played from that time till now. With the bop influence which changed harmonies, chord sequences and solo concepts, the Charlie Parker influence still looms largely. Notwithstanding, he still cannot be said to have totally inspired all that is happening today because since his death, a lot of developments have happened; a lot of changes have taken place.
Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis all went their separate and individual ways. Those of them who are still alive like Sonny Rollins and Ornette are still borrowing from foreign cultures an their own immediate environments.
In terms of the trumpet which is Wynton’s own instrument, the ‘90s which saw him to the Jazz Centre was, in my own opinion, dominated by Lester Bowie of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. An activist who was determined to make a point as far as enthroning jazz as ‘Black Music’ is concerned, Bowie played the trumpet in an extraordinarily unusual style with an avantgarde approach that defied categorisation. When he performed in Lagos, Nigeria at Decca Recording studios with Fela’s Egypt 80 in 1978 on such tunes as Dog Eat Dog and No agreement, his trumpet was weird and yet it conformed with the Afrobeat progression laid down for the songs by Fela. Solos which he shared with Fela’s sideman, Tunde Williams were not far out, to the point that you could not recognise that he was improvising on African rhythms and melodies. Making a deliberate effort to identify with tradition and the grassroots, Bowie derived most of his notes from the themes just so that he did not stray too far away from Africa. Such is the hallmark of artistic creativity – the ability to adapt to various melodies, cultures and patterns.

Every saxophonist is today looking up to John Coltrane for inspiration – over 40 years after his death. They still see him as the ultimate, and want to enact the modal phrases that characterised his playing; and the peculiar Indian sound and tone he imbibed from that country – from research and experimentation. And yet, Coltrane cannot be said to be the inspirer of all of today’s jazz. Even when it is obvious that Coltrane’s influence is so infectious that young saxophonists are copying his phrases and technique, we cannot credit him with all the responsibility.
Miles Davies took the trumpet to a creative height unprecedented in the history of jazz. Every trumpeter wants to listen to Miles for his tone, phrases and improvisational concept. Still, he cannot be said to have dominated today’s scene. Even though his influence is overwhelming, the Terence Blanchards and Roy Hargroves of this world also have their individualities to invest in their playing.
Wynton Marsalis is a great trumpeter. Besides, he is a great organiser of men and material. He truly has touched most of the young, aspiring jazz men on the scene today.
Marsalis has garnered awards of all kinds from numerous sources. He has received the Grand Prix au Disque of France, the Edison Award of the Netherlands, and eight Grammys for jazz and classical music (including Grammys in both jazz and classical the same year).
In 1996, he won a Peabody Award for his twenty six part National Public Radio series, “Making the Music”, and his four-part PBS-TV series, “Marsalis on Music”. The same year, TIME magazine named him one of America’s 25 most Influential People. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his epic work – Blood on the Fields (Columbia), which he recorded with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. In 1998, Marsalis was given the Young Star Award at the Turner Broadcasting System’s Trumpet Awards, which recognises outstanding African-American achievement.
There is no doubt that Marsalis is one of the greatest figures in jazz. Continually pursuing his goals of recording and performing music at the highest level, as well as educating today’s youth, he is indeed worthy of all the recognition he has received so far and will undoubtedly continue to receive – if he continues to do what he is doing.
But Miles Davis and Lester Bowie could have garnered more laurels than these, if only they were establishment artists ready to conform with the tenets of the system. But as genuine artists, they were too restless and impatient to be pinned down to organising and co-ordinating. They were always researching and reaching out to new levels. And Wynton himself recognises this fact even though he has always refused to give honour to Miles Davis who influenced and shaped his career as a trumpeter.

With a classical music background, Wynton came into jazz through Miles whom he copied note for note, phrase to phrase – before he eventually came into his own. Up till now, the traits of his mentor can still be heard in his playing, but he has refused at every opportunity to give credits for his influence to Miles whom he has bad-mouthed in several interviews – for reasons that we do not know. And this is not a sign of true musicianship.
In 1997, Wynton was asked who were some of the people who had had the most influence in his life, and why. His reply: “Both my parents. First, just my father – just to have an opportunity to be around a musician of that calibre, that type of man with a lot of integrity and not really pretentious at all, some one who really loves music and believes in it and whose belief in music is not predicated on his position in it because he was always struggling just to make ends meet to feed that big family he had.
“But he didn’t get jaded because he still had belief in the music. So he would say, “Well, I might not be making money, but the music is great”. And my mother – just the type of investment in time she put into us going to music lessons and taking us to concerts and stuff that she didn’t really necessarily want to do.
“Then all the many teachers I had … I have so many trumpet teachers. And then all the musicians that I knew when I was growing up. They were kind of like my uncles even though they didn’t know the type of impact they had on me. Just to always be around them.
“ And then, musicians like Art Blakey. He had a tremendous impact on me. The opportunity to work and understand what it means to go to work every night and play and not joke around, like be serious about swinging and playing with vibe at all times, playing with a certain intensity and feeling.
“And musicians like Clark Terry, I would meet them when I was in high school. And he sent me a postcard once. Just musicians who keep you inspired, you know. So many people. I could just go on and on. There are so many musicians. I know so many people I’ve met who were very inspirational”.
It is surprising to realise that all through the interview, no mention was made of Miles Davis, the man who directly influenced him. But he made mention of Clark Terry, a trumpeter who belonged to an era before him and even Miles Davis. Clark Terry played with Duke Ellington.

Born into a music family, Wynton began studying the trumpet seriously around the age of twelve. At seventeen, he moved to New York City to attend the prestigious Julliard School. Soon after arriving, however, he accepted an offer to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and began touring the world. A couple of years later, he began forming his own groups, and he has maintained a relentless recording and touring schedule ever since. In 1987 Wynton co-founded “Jazz at Lincoln Center”, which has been named a full constituent organisation, the first to earn the distinction since 1969.

The return of Laurrenz

My encounter with Mother Theresa...

BY CHUKS NWANNE
He had earlier promised visiting The Guardian last time he was in the country, but with the change of things Lawrence Onuzulike couldn’t make it.
However, on arrival this time, the Sweden-based artiste made the Rutam House his first port of call.
“I’m actually on a media tour, so, we are here to see you as promised,” he says as he alights from his car.
“The Guardian office is one newspaper house in Nigeria that actually looks like a media house,” the Anambra State native observes as we step into the reception for a chat.

While a young man, Laurrenz, as he’s fondly called, was greatly influenced by the charity works of the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta, to the extent that he opted to join her. Though from an Anglican family, the singer got to know about Mother Theresa through one of his parents’ Catholic tenants.
“I got fascinated by her deeds; in fact, I used to think she was a saint dead long time ago. But when I heard that she was alive, I begged my father to take me to India to see her, which he did.”
“That was my 19th birthday,” he recalls. “My father was getting older then, so, he sent me alongside one of his servants. I voluntarily worked with Mother Theresa for a year, helping the kids in the schools.”
Were you paid?
“You don’t get paid for that, instead you contribute to the work; in fact, my parents were sending money to me for upkeep…”
To Laurrenz, working with Mother Theresa was like a dream come true.
“I don’t even know why I chose to do the work, but after that, I felt I’d achieved something great. It was really nice because it gave me much attention as the first black to work there without pay; it still stands in their record.”
“Mother Theresa observed how I used to defend Africa. So, she said if I continued fighting for Africa like this, that one day, I would win the Nobel Prize.”
Are we seeing you in that line?
“Well, with my books, that’s basically the kind of things I write about; my books don’t go down well with the whites because I fight for Africa through my works.”
With his first novel, Chikezie Ezeigbo; living and dying in agony, already on bookshelves, the singer is working on the second, Lawrence Onuzulike; until now, a compilation of his published articles in different magazines and newspapers abroad.
“It’s being published by a white company and will be distributed internationally by Engram.”
But your articles are usually against the whites?
“Funny enough, a white publishing firm has agreed to publish the work,” he says amidst laughts.
It seems you believe so much in Africa?
“Yes, and maybe that’s what Mother Theresa saw in me when she said what she said about me. Anytime I’m abroad, I feel like I’m choking, but here, I feel more relaxed.”

MEANWHILE, Laurrenz’s recent visit has nothing to do with his books or charity; the singer returned to promote his new album, I’m The Laurrenz.
“This is my third album,” he says. “The first was titled I, it’s a Swedish hip-hop/pop music. The second album, Still Single and Rich, was recorded in Nigeria, featuring some Nigerian artistes. That was the one that sold very well because it was Africanised; it sold more in Europe than here.”
With the new work, featuring artistes such as Jah Squad, Konga and Pasto Goody Goody, the returnee artiste intends to introduce himself to the Nigerian audience.
“For more than six years, they’ve seen me in the movies and my posters around the country. My music videos have been played on TV, so, they know that there’s a Laurrenz, but they don’t really know me. With this work, I’m introducing myself to Nigerians.”
With the date for the official album launch yet to be unveiled, the artiste is determined to promote the title track, I’m The Laurrenzo, which is already enjoying airplay on Lagos radio stations.
“I do hip-hop, but my last album had Afro hip-hop and highlife. But this new work is Afro dancehall, fused with talking drums and African beats; you will like it because it’s danceable,” he says.

LAURRENZ journey into the music industry dates back to his days at the Akpata Memorial High School, Lagos, where he teamed up with like minds to form a gospel hip-hop group, before heading to Sweden to study Swedish Language and Intensive English. But professionally, his music started in Thailand.
“I met a group in Thailand called, The Calypsos, from Trinidad and Tobago. They used to do dance music, but they don’t rap in it. I used to go watch them at the beach, and in one of those occasions, I rapped with them for fun; they were impressed that I could rap in their own kind of music. That was how I joined them and we started touring Asian countries; that was the birth of music for me.”
Back home, Laurrenz had worked with artistes such as Orits Wiliki.
“He’s my friend,” he sings. “I was in his video, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. We did some stuff before I travelled back to Europe.”

ASIDE music, he also runs an outfit, Laurrenzic.
“The company has an online entertainment section and a site, lurrenzinc.com; it’s just like Facebook, where you could network with people. We actually built it for Africans alone, but we now have some whites that want to network with Africans. The international media rated it as the fastest growing African network,” he informs.
Having worked with his role model, Mother Theresa, Laurrenze is already thinking of establishing a charity.
“The good thing about being a celebrity in Europe is that you always get involved with charity works; that’s their style. I’ve started one, Children Africa; you can go online and find out about what we’ve done. We are not saving kids in Africa, we just want to give African kids happy time; we don’t need to wait till they turn beggars on the streets.”
He continues: “We find out what their dream is and try to help them live up to it. For instance, one of them might have the dream of meeting Nelson Mandela; we help facilitate the meeting just to put smile of their faces. We have our presence here, but we are more popular abroad.”

Around and about Nollywood...

A scene from Iphigenia finds Ayelala staged at the Lagos State University on June 4 and 5. The play was directed by Shina Ayodele
BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI
UNVEILED: Television and Audio Visual award
The maiden edition of the television and audio visual award (TAVA)managed by Okey Ogunjiofor’s Videosonic Limited was presented to the at a colourful ceremony held at O’jez, Surulere, Lagos, during the week. Okey assured that the award scheme would be the benchmark for other awards. Ogunjiofor, who is popular as Paulo, a role he played in the phenomenal Living in Bondage, said it would be a yearly event created to honour outstanding indigenous films, music video, television productions, commercials and general programmes as well as the most creative performers, outstanding television houses and audio-visual equipment. TAVA has as its main theme, Perfect Pictures, Perfect Sound.

NFI courts San Francisco Art Institute
THE National Film Institute (NFI), Jos, is set to partner with the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), United States, in the area of manpower development and skill acquisition. This is in response to the progress recorded at NFI, in terms of infrastructural development, training and capacity building for both students and motion picture professionals in the last four years. In a letter to Afolabi Adesanya, managing director, Nigerian Film Corporation, (NFC), who incidentally is an alumnus of the San Francisco institute, signed by Chris Bratton; NFC was commended for the various transformational developments it has undertaken to strengthen the film industry in Nigeria. Bratton, who is president of the San Francisco Institute, said, his school has designed its programmes to include broad approaches to old, new and emerging technologies as well as embracing the diversittes of film practices across the world. Alumni of SFAI in Nigeria include Wole Coker (NTA’s ETV), and Bayo Oyekan (NTA, Abeokuta) .The NFC, Bratton said, is strategically placed within the African continent to be approached for partnership, which has already taken off with film schools and agencies in Mexico, France and China.
…An Ambassadoral embrace
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Dada Olisa has commended NFC for its efforts in ensuring that Nigerians at home and in Diaspora are parts of the development process of the nation through film business. Olisa said this when he visited Afolabi Adesanya, MD, NFC in Abuja, recently. The Ambassador said the Nigerian community and friends of Nigeria in Israel are looking ahead to the hosting of the Nigerian Art, Culture and Film Week scheduled for Tel-Aviv, August, 2009. He assured all those who have indicated interest to participate in the programme of the Embassy’s support.
Responding, Adesanya said that the film week will no doubt strengthen international relationships and the acceptance of Nigerian cultural products in that region of the world. He assured the ambassador that motion picture professionals would be duly mobilised to attend the event –– an initiative of Mrs. Janet, wife of the Ambassador. Movies preselected for the programme include; The White Handkerchief and Arugba by Tunde Kelani; Izu Chukwu’s White Waters, and Talking Drums by Kayode Ibisankale. Others are Hafsah by Sani Muazu and Wakara by Ahmad Sarari.

NFC commissions projects
GOVERNOR Jonah David Jang of Plateau State and Information and Communication Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, during the week, commissioned three completed projects at the National Film Institute Jos. They are the Administrative Block, the Sound Stage Complex and the 350 Terrace Seat Auditorium. The commissioning on June 12 brings to five the number of new facilities built to boost learning at the nation’s premier film institute within the last four years. Recall that during SHOOT! 2008, the three in one Cyber café/Bookshop/Canteen as well as the Still Photography Laboratory were commissioned. While the Administrative block will provide the needed office accommodation for the increasing number of academic and non-academic staff of the Institute, the 350 terrace seat auditorium will serve as a Lecture Hall and for the screening of students’ films. The Sound Stage complex will provide facilities for pre-production, production and post-production of films, movies and television commercials. Similarly, the newly completed structures/buildings will provide the needed facilities for the corporation’s yearly professional training workshop – SHOOT! This year’s edition of SHOOT! is scheduled for July 20 – 24, 2009 at the Film Institute in Jos.

Waka pass…
Producer- Amebo A. Amebo
Director- Mr. Gossip
Actors- Nollywood Celebrities

Has there been a change of guard at AGN?
WE were startled… no… fear gripped us during the week when one waka pass hinted that there may have been a change of guard at the Actors Guild of Nigeria. The waka pass, who called us from the Ikeja area of Lagos, hinged his suspicion on the fact that he saw the AGN official car with registration number AGN 1 with someone ‘perching comfortably’ at the owner’s corner. He swore that the person did not look like the President Ejike Asiegbu, who is the only person authorised to sit at that owner’s corner. In fact, our fear heightened until we pulled a call through to ‘Ejyke’ Oga Presido to confirm the development. Until we got through, we believed the account of this waka pass that is loyal to Ejyke, but you know —‘The man just wan taste and see how the seat dey sweat (sic).

Leo has been trying us
SOMEONE who knows someone, who knows the star of Labista and other movies, Leo Mezie, called last week to mention that the fair skinned actor was ‘direly’ (sic) interested in talking to Moviedom. We gathered that the actor who once mentioned to us that he was ‘quarter to quitting bachelorhood’ was pissed off that even as close as we were to him, we allowed a waka pass to mistake someone for him. Recall one ‘before-before’ story about Leo visiting a LASU campus as if he was on the faculty. Although the ‘court man’, who stood in defence for Leo, said he could not rule out the fact that the actor –– who was raised in Ikeja and Mushin –– can visit LASU, he insisted as though he was actually handed down the brief that the Leo he knows cannot be the same person the waka pass has been seeing on LASU campus. Anyway, we have been trying oga Leo too to hear his own side of the case. So, Oga Leo over.

Ajebo’s new way
THOSE who coined the saying ‘One road does not enter the market’ probably have Steve Eboh (a.k.a Ajebo) in mind. We were wondering how the producer of one of the longest running Nollywood film, The Concubine (the movie as at the last edit is still nine hours long) has been surviving since he seldom act in movies and has not been able to get anyone to touch his lengthy film until someone hinted that the actor and embattled member of the AGN –– has taken up a brief as a media consultant to an institution in the South East. They even say that the brief is the reason why Ajebo as he is fondly called has been smiling from post to post even in the face of ‘acting meltdown’ orchestrated by the reported and indeed prolonged battle between him and the acting caliphate. Anyway, we hear that Ajebo has been ‘declaring things’ every now and then at the popular artistes hangout, Ojez. One waka pass said we should please help tell Ajebo to allow the ‘things’ trickle down to people like him who stood by him ()Ajebo) when the acting caliphate took him on. True, anyone who stands by anyone that is in contention with the caliphate needs to be compensated. Caliphate? Sey na for my mouth you wan hear say Jim Iyke don win grammy?
To God be the Glory.

This Tuvi sambas with confidence

BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI
HE is not the usual actor in every film, but Ugochukwu Emeka Ogenetuviere James or Tuvi James for short, is in the estimation of film critics, is a steady actor who impresses with his acts. The star of Traumatized, Day Time Lover, Lost Passion, Missing Angel, Beyond belief and Stand by Me is believed to be one actor whose potentials have not really been explored by film producers. Moviedom brings you closer to the Nnewi, Anambra State-born actor.

Tuvi James
Born in Lagos to parents who are both lawyers and devout Christians; Tuvi, a native of Nnewi Local Council of Anambra State has never lived outside Lagos. He was named Ogenetuviere from where the name Tuvi was coined out by his Urhobo mother. He had his early and post secondary education in Lagos.
It was acting from childhood
Tuvi had always wanted to be an actor; he saw acting as a talent. Though, he loved sports generally, and was engaged in a lot of athletics while growing up, as time went on, he developed interest in acting. He found the activities of the school dramatic society a great influence and took part in a number of drama presentations. He continued like that until he got into Nollywood.
Nollywood
He was on his way to the library as a student of the University of Lagos, when a member of crew of one movie being shot on campus approached him to play the role of a “rich man’s son”. He replied in the affirmative, and that was it. He got a script, rehearsed, got on set, and months later he was on the cover jacket of My Vengeance and Your Funeral.
Parental objection
Ironically, his parents didn’t think he made a right choice by choosing acting as a profession. They wanted him to be a medical doctor, believing that with acting he may end up being a ‘hooligan’. They insisted that he must return to school to study medicine, which he began for a while before he stopped and ventured into acting. In fact, he revealed that his father almost disowned him, but he could not be bothered because as he said, ‘I have a dream and I know where I am heading to’.
Role model
He is a great admirer of some renowned Hollywood actors such as Denzel Washington, Russell Crewel and Tom Cruise; and admires Nigeria’s Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD) greatly. He named RMD first among those he draws inspiration from and confessed to have learnt so much watching him.
First day on set is the deepest
Tuvi’s first day on set would remain his most memorable day as an actor. He had stage fright. In fact, he almost gave up his first acting role, but today, Tuvi sambas with full confidence and can take up any job even at short notice.
Am lady’s man?
Hailed as ‘a ladies man’ whose looks and disposition can melt the heart of any lady, Tuvi said warding off passes from female admirers has been one of his biggest challenges as an actor.
Career ambition
A trained computer scientist and an alumnus of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria training school, who is also engaged in singing and some modeling activities by the side, Tuvi’s ambition is to get to the height of his chosen career. The star of Children of Terror, Wanted Alive, Married Woman and Broken Engagement also wants to keep serving God as well as to assist and serve the less privileged in the society. He says he has no regret acting and would play a long game in the movie.
Next time around
If given another opportunity to live life again, Tuvi will return an actor; acting and entertainment generally have become a part of me. Take them away and you would have taken a part of me away’.
Those coming behind
Described by close friends as humble, trusted, amiable and friendly, he admonishes all those interested in taking up acting as a career not to jump into it without acquiring the basic education. He also advised that they must be humble and not be desperate as desperation has led so many people out of the industry.
Nollywood
I am satisfied with the progress we have made. Yes, Nollywood is going places and we have become the cynosure of all eyes; but we need to close ranks and work as a people determined to raise the stake.

Cape Town... A Step In Madiba’s Shoes

BY CHUKS NWANNE
It was the 10th anniversary of the yearly Cape Town International Jazz Festival that drew the collective of newshounds to Madiba’s country. But they eventually got more than a taste opf rhythm and beats as the South African Tourism lured theminto a scheme to explore the richness of cape Town. Thus the journalists from different parts of the world including US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana and others tore through the heart of Mandela Rhodes Place tripping on its sight and sound.

At a special dinner for the media at Panama Jacks, in Table Bay Harbour, the tour guide from Geometric Tours unveiled the plans by the South African Tourism to take the crew on a special tour of Cape Town’s attractions; we all jumped at it.
With its majestic Table Mountain backdrop, Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A harmonious blend of architectural styles reflects the tastes of the past as well as today’s more functional requirements. Between the high-rise office blocks, Edwardian and Victorian buildings have been meticulously preserved, and many outstanding examples of Cape Dutch architecture are found. Narrow, cobble stone streets and the strongly Islamic ambience of the Bo-Kaap enhance the cosmopolitan visage of the city.
Cape Town’s attractions are plentiful and varied. While the Western Cape made up of 10 district regions, three popular tourist routes and offers many ‘must-see’ attractions, remains one of South Africa’s premier tourism destinations for good reasons, The Cape Province is renowned for the world-famous Table Mountain, its vast Cape Winelands and the most exquisite coastline.

Our first port of call was the Cape Peninsula, with visits to Table Mountain, with a boat cruise from the picturesque village of Hout Bay to Duker Island to spot the Cape Fur seals and coastal birds. It was really fun, driving along the dramatic Chapmans Peak onto the historical Cape Point Nature Reserve, via the lighthouse of Kommetjie, before landing at the Boulder’s beach, where the rare African penguins could be viewed on a white sandy beach.
After a seafood lunch at Fish Hoek, the tour bus rolled back to town via the False Bay coastline, through scenic villages such as the historical Naval Base of Simon’s Town, Kalk Bay fishing village and Muizenberg with its stretched golden beaches; this truly surfers paradise. The day ended with an evening of leisure on the popular Long Street, known for its many bars and entertainment venues.
As at 7am the following day, the tour guide
was already at the Mandela Rhodes, with the tour bus steaming outside, ready to cruise to the Cape Town Winelands.
The fertile green valleys of the Cape Winelands are surrounded by proud mountain ranges. It is the Mediterranean climate and winter rainfall of the south-western Cape that produces some of the best wines in the country. We encountered the country’s interesting wine farms, with a walk about in the village of Franshhoek, the gournment capital of Western Cape. There was also a brief stop at the historical Village of Stellenbosch, second oldest town in South Africa.

Thehighpoint of the tour was a visit to the famous Robben Island, through the Gateway Terminal in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The Waterfront evokes images of the early activities of the harbour. Much of its charm lies in the fact that this busy commercial harbour is set in the midst of a huge entertainment venue with pubs, restaurants, specialty shops, craft markets, theatres and movies.
However, the ferry cruise to the Island lasted for about 30 minutes, before the ferry made a final stop at the harbour.
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here at Robben Island that rulers sent those regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts and the unwanted of the society.
The duty of those who ran Robben Island and its prison was to isolate opponents of apartheid and to crush their morale. Some freedom fighters spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for their beliefs. Those imprisoned on the Island succeeded on a psychological and political level in turning a prison ‘hell-hole’ into a symbol of freedom and personal liberation.
People lived on Robben Island many thousands of years ago, when the sea channel between the Island and the Cape mainland was not covered with water. Since the Dutch settled at the Cape in the mid-1600s, Robben Island has been used primarily as a prison.
Indigenous African leaders, Muslim leaders from the East Indies, Dutch and British settler soldiers and civilians, women, and anti-apartheid activists.
Perhaps its famous prisoner yet is Nelson Rolihaha Mandela, who was kept there for nearly two decades of the 27 years he spent in incaceration for leading fierce opposition to the then apartheid regime. Others included the founding leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, were all imprisoned on Robben Island

Today, Robben Island tells a story victory over Apartheid and other human rights abuses. Overcoming opposition from the prison authorities, prisoners on Robben Island after the 1960s were able to organise sporting events, political debates and educational programmes, and to assert their right to be treated as human beings, with dignity and equality. They were able to help the country establish the foundations of its modern democracy. The image of Robben Island today is as a place of oppression, as well as a place of triumph. The Island remains a must visit for any tourist to Madiba’s territory.

The broken mould

BY WOLE OGUNTOKUN
WE’LL start this ‘story’ properly by defining what a mould is for those who might not know. It’s what potters and people of similar professions make their casts, shapes, patterns and forms from.
You make the mould then pour in the plaster, the clay, molten gold or whatever else you might use to make your shapes and it brings an exact replica of the form of the mould. In that case, you might call the mould the master-copy.
One day, a while back, Sherri, a female who stays continents away and whom I consider very pleasant, wrote of me, “they broke the mould after laspapi” and that set me thinking.
What happens when we find the perfect person, that person who meets almost all of our needs and expectations in a partner and we get on like a house on fire, but then someday, for whatever reason, we have to part ways permanently with that person, road leading onto road? What happens if the perfect mould is broken?
Let’s be truthful, the world has basic types of people. Even the Whisperer has categorized women into four main groupings, the Jerry Springer, the Free Spirit, The Girl Next Door and the Thorough Bred. However, these are broad generalisations and even within groups, there is massive individuality. So you meet the perfect partner, the one who laughs at your jokes, who looks at you from across the room and you know without an exchange of words that it is time for you to leave the horrible party both of you made the mistake of attending.
What happens to your world if this person leaves, if the mould is broken and cannot be replaced? One might create another mould, some would say. That might be true but it would never be the same. It might be better ...or it might be worse.
The idiosyncrasies that come with one partner are rarely duplicated in another. The laughter, the friendship, the way people respond when upset or annoyed, the intimacy; all these things are peculiar to individuals and you cannot teach another to be like the one that went before.
It is disrespectful , as a matter of fact, to even try. There are no two people that have the same kind of dentition, not even twins. You find someone who’s like your mould and yet, there’s something missing. Maybe laughter that goes on a bit too long or is a little bit too loud or just has a grating quality that sets your teeth on edge.

THE Whisperer asks again, “what do you do when the mould is gone for whatever reason?” The separation might be your fault, the fault of the mould or circumstances beyond your control. Yes, life isn’t always fair, so get ready for the curve balls. By an accident of fate, the ‘perfect partner’ has walked out of the door and you know, you just know with a sinking of the heart, ‘he ain’t coming back this time’.
In retrospect, The Whisperer believes that quite a number of his relationships were with people who looked like a master copy since long gone.
It appeared it was a subconscious thing not done with any afore-thought malice. It just happened that a number of subsequent partners looked like a certain female the Whisperer once cared greatly about and who also cared about him.
Some would argue that men and women have certain specifications, standards they want partners to meet, whether physical, emotional or intellectual so that might be the reason your partners seem to look the same way. It isn’t always so.
It might just be because somewhere deep in your heart, you’re looking to replace the person who rocked your world, anyhow you can.
If the mould is broken, is life over? It would be foolish to set out thinking that life has ended because you cannot continue a relationship. The world as you know it might have entered a new phase but you must look on this as an opportunity to improve the prototype...if you’re lucky.
The world is full of beautiful people and you cannot lie down and die because the pain in your heart is unlike any other that you have felt. An amount of philosophical thinking is needed here and it is that if it was meant to be, it would have been.
The Whisperer, once or twice, has lost out on lucrative-appearing contracts unlike any in his profession but he learnt one must have the ability to turn one’s back on these disappointments and move on. Pain paralyses and will make nonsense of your future if you do not let go.
Travel the world, take up new hobbies, and meet interesting people from the North, from Kenya, from Tibet, anywhere. Win a Grammy like Tina Turner after managing to escape from the abusive Ike, be like Cher, who continues to re-invent herself generation after generation even though Sonny’s long gone, or like Halle Berry and win an Oscar after your man rejects you in public.
It doesn’t matter how you do it, but like the Nike advert goes, “just do it”. Do your best to make a much better mould than what you had before and improve your art.

AS an aside, I receive mail from strange men who believe the pictures that accompany the “whispering page” are pictures of the writer.
The pictures of the usually attractive women (there have been a few lapses of judgment) on the page are chosen by the staff of The Guardian and not by The Whisperer, who is a male. And anyway, except you’re brain-dead, just reading a few lines would let you know it was a man writing. So, here goes to the men who have offered me homes in Abuja and in Calabar; those pictures are not of the writer.
But I digress. If the mould is broken, you can make a new one, an improved one, cast in stainless steel or made with flawless titanium.
The world is a beautiful place and The Whisperer has met many, many beautiful people; women with great hearts and great, great minds, and he faces the future with a huge smile on his face and a jaunty spring in his step and he tells you, as one friend to the other, that you should too.

laspapi@yahoo.com