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PUBLISHER’S INTRO
WHAT A
ISSN-1362-7309 Issue 153 CREW PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dele Momodu momodudele@yahoo.co.uk
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Mobolaji Momodu EDITOR Michael Effiong mikeffiong2009@yahoo.com mikeffiong@ovationinternational.com
MANAGING EDITOR Segun Adebowale PHOTO EDITOR Adekoya Adegbite PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTOR Isaac Edoh-Philip ASSISTANT DESIGNER Kwaku Yeboah Darteh CORRESPONDENT Mo Salami…Dele Salako…Babatunde Martins PHOTO JOURNALISTS Colin Ramsay… Ade James (USA)… Dayo Adedayo Isaac Adegbite… Dragan Mikki… Bodise Wilson Soji Adekunle… Vera Odjugo… Tope Brown Solomon Ekhaiyemhe… Abraham Falodun Segun Lawal… Ken Ehimen...Sunmisola Olorunnisola Guy L’ Avenir (Benin Republic) Ben Dzakah (Ghana) MARKETING/ADVERTS Zed Dominic Okolue (Benin Republic) US CORRESPONDENTS Samantha Ofole Prince… Shola Orolugbagbe CONTRIBUTORS Jimi Akinniyi… Sanya Ojikutu… Isatou N’jie Dayo Olomu… Makeba Boateng LAGOS OFFICE Bamisebi Richard Ojo-Head Admin Aderemi Abiola-Admin. Officer UK OPERATIONS 7 Du Maurier House, Lawn Road, London NW3 2XE Tel: +447951026178, +447956967160 UK DISTRIBUTION/WORLDWIDE SUBSCRIPTION Jay Magazine & Newspaper Distribution, UK +44(20) 76358888, +447976628251 UK AND EUROPE DISTRIBUTION Quality Magazine Distribution Global Distribution MANAGING EDITOR BENIN REPUBLIC BUREAU Jeanne-Frances Maduakor Centre Commercial Xanadu-Ancien Pont, Wlacodji Contonou Tel: +229 97221918, +299 98155422 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo… Ike Okonta… Sunmi Smart-Cole Okagbue Aduba… Osasu Obayiuwana… Dupe Ashama Isha Tejan-Cole (West Africa) ...Richie Dayo Johnson GHANA OPERATIONS #17, Asafoatse Afua Street, West Airport. Tel: +233-21-762595, 778737. Fax +233244843099 LAGOS 13B Ladipo Kuku Street, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria Tel: +234-0-8023002090, (0)8055069220, (0)8055069212, (1)4543030 TOGO BUREAU King Nee +2289160855 Chinyere Ndukwe +22890039631 PRINTED BY The Magazine Printing Company Ltd., Enfield, England. DIRECTORS Segun Fatoye, Mobolaji Momodu, Damola Aderemi, Dele Momodu (CEO) OVATION Magazine is published as a periodical by OVATION Comm. Ltd. ©OVATION International Reproduction in full or part of any contents of OVATION magazine (without prior written consent from the publisher) is strictly prohibited.
FABULOUS
YEAR!
L
et me start by saying how wonderfully God has stood by us at OVATION International. It was a year of giant strides and audacious moves on our side. The year 2013 saw us sustaining a humongous publication at an average of 364 pages per issue except for special editions. Our loyal readers also responded in kind by picking up copies and encouraging gallant efforts. News Agents, Distributors, Vendors, Librarians, Celebrants and Advertisers marvelled at how we managed to sustain this feat at a time many major global titles were dying or going epileptic. It is all the work of the almighty and the support of all of you through prayers and patronage. There is no other way to describe your darling magazine than to call it a miracle baby. Since we started this magazine in 1996, we’ve gone through many tribulations and triumphs. It won’t be a bad idea to regale you with tales of our incredible exploits in the jungle of media business. It is not an exaggeration to say most publications often die from conception. That is, they perish in the minds and hearts of the would-be publishers. Everything looks so simple INITIALLY until you get to the stage of execution. That is when you begin to discover the hidden mysteries of publishing as well as the latent miseries of business in general. Our experience tested our faith but we remained resolute and prayerful. We just refused to give up. Please, permit me to go briefly into our chequered history for the sake of those too young to remember the story behind our epic journey. OVATION International was born as a child of circumstance in the beautiful city of London in April 1996. I was on the run from my beloved country when I was declared an enemy of State by the Abacha junta in July 1995. I was accused of being one of the brains behind a pirate radio known then as Radio Freedom and later changed to Radio Kudirat. I managed to escape through the smugglers’ routes at Seme Border into Cotonou, Benin Republic, from where I travelled to Lome, Togo and arrived that night in Accra, Ghana. It was probably my most horrendous experience in life, being forcefully detached from family and friends. From Ghana, I moved to London and landed on July 29, 1995, at Gatwick to begin an unplanned life as a refugee. It soon dawned on me that this was not going to be a tea party. The military regime left behind in Nigeria was getting more and more neurotic and unrepentantly draconian by the day and the hope of returning to my beloved country soon evaporated. The challenge was very palpable: how to keep body and soul together in exile. Then I received the call of God through my younger cousin, Mr. Segun Fatoye, who posed a question I didn’t expect: what are you going to be doing for a living now that you are stranded in London? I was initially tongue-tied and he had to answer his own poser. He said the options available to me were very few and limited and if care was not taken I will end up as a security officer or dish-washer! It didn’t sound
palatable but it was the cold and brutal truth. He wondered why I did not consider starting a publication in England since I was already a successful and celebrated journalist back home. That was the tonic needed to galvanise me into action. A few of us soon came together to knock together what would become Africa’s biggest celebrity journal. It would have been impossible without the eternal love and support of the best mentors, family members and friends in the world, including Chief Ezekiel Olasunmoye Fatoye, Segun Fatoye, Damola Aderemi, Yemi Aderemi, Bayo Williams, Damilola Abiodun, Gbenga Olunloyo, Chief Oyekunle AlexDuduyemi, Dr Bode Olajumoke, and others who gave emotional and material support. We had a pool of some of Africa’s brightest journalists, including Sonala Olumhense, Ike Okonta, Onukaba-Adinoyi-Ojo, Olakunle Bakare, Alaba Yusuf, Azuh Arinze, Samantha Ofole-Prince, Uzoma Umesi, Eddie Iroh, and many others to thank for our blistering take-off. From the first cover we did on Mohammed AlFayed of Harrods, at the time, it was obvious we were out to change the status of Lifestyle journalism forever. The rest is history. OVATION International has continued to live up to its reputation as a child of destiny. Nearly 18 years on, the magazine has maintained its lead and its style has given rise to a preponderance of look-alike publications. We are indeed flattered that we have caused a major revolution in the industry. It is doubtful if any publication ever had such grip or influence in our genre. The success of OVATION International has cleared the way for others to enter the massive Nigeria market. We have seen the coming of several foreign brands in form of franchises and we’ve not been intimidated by any of them because of our indomitable Nigerian spirit. We have demonstrated that Africans have the capacity to produce world class magazines for global consumption. As we draw the curtain on the year 2013, we wish to thank you all for your enduring faith in us. We truly appreciate your custom and we promise to continue the task of publishing a magazine that presents the positive image of Africa and Africans.
Merry Xmas & Happy New Year!
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