THE GUARDIAN, Saturday, August 3, 2013
38 |
ENTERTAINMENT
Femi, Yinka For Muson Jazz Festival
Seasoned Hotel Managers Invade Asaba ESIDENTS and visitors to R Asaba, the Delta State, capital are certainly having the
…Tee Mac, Bright Gain, Others Jazz Up Mandela Day Celebration REPARATIONS are already in top gear P for the yearly MUSON Jazz Festival billed for the Shell Hall of the prestigious MUSON Centre in Onikan, Lagos on Saturday, October 19, 2013. To make it an unforgettable experience, the event which has become the toast of jazz and jazz related music lovers in the country, will this year be celebrating two of Nigeria’s contemporary music icons: Femi Kuti, Afrobeat King who is the son of Afrobeat creator, late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti; and Yinka Davies, a celebrated Afro Jazz and soul diva. Tickets prices to be announced later. Meanwhile, African icon, Nelson Mandela fondly called Madiba, was celebrated penultimate week. The July 18 show is an event that is held annually on a date that
has been officially declared the ‘International Nelson Mandela Day’ by the United Nations. Expectedly, Nigeria was not left out of the celebrations as the South African Consulate General in Lagos also marked the day at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos. The well-attended event had several highlights that included speeches by the South African Consul General, Ambassador Monaisa and Political Counselor, Thandi Mgxwati, sponsors and other well-wishers. The high point of the very entertaining night was the cutting of the birthday cake and a raffle draw by South Airways that produced a winner of a free return ticket to South Africa as part of the programme. There was a cultural performance by a very energetic troupe of Zulu Dancers. Veteran Nigeria musician and Chairman of the Nigerian-South African Week -Tale of Two African cities (TOTAC 2013) planning committee, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola was also present to honor Nelson Mandela with several performances as he collaborated with foremost bassist, Bright Gain. The skilled flutist reportedly played a happy birthday tune in Madiba’s honor, before joining Gain in a beautiful set where members of the Zulu band joined them. Dignitaries at the event included Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Disun Holloway and members of his ministry including Mrs. Ranti Alebiosu-Bush (SA to the
governor on tourism), Mrs. Shonibare (Director Intergovernmental Relations), Mrs. Aduke Gomez, Mr. Wale Adeniji (SA to the Commissioner). Others included the acting Consular General and head of Public Affairs, US Embassy, Mrs. Dehab Ghebreab, The Group Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank Mrs. Sola David-Borha, the Managing Director of Unilever and his wife Mr. and Mrs. Thabo Mabe. The African World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, the Ultimate Commander, Mr. Baxter, CEO, Silverbird galleria and leading Jazz promoter/TOTAC project director, Ayoola Sadare.
Dimeji, Busayo, Adebayo
Yinka
Femi
best of time as far as entertainment, hospitality and tourism are concerned. This probably has a link with the much-touted ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ slogan that the state government has given so much life to. This has attracted reputable professionals in hospitality, tourism and entertainment to the fast growing city that Nollywood practitioners have adopted as the home for filmmaking. Consequently, this has encouraged seasoned hoteliers as well. The Guardian’s recent visit revealed a core group of hotel professionals who have spent their careers in the hospitality industry. They are Dimeji Daramola, Busayo Adeojo-Josh and Adebayo Asebajo. In an interview with Daramola at Vision Serviced Apartment, Asaba, where they are based, he said: “We have all, without exception, learnt our trade
from the shop floor to the top management level, through sheer hard work and continuous training with major chains of five-star hotels in the country. This is after the required technical training in hospitality schools and other institutions around the world.” He said they are in Asaba to make a difference, “ as a group of hospitality professionals with a collective working experience of not less than 15 years in various positions in major five-star hotels. We are equally equipped with the latest information technology in use in the industry.” He said that apart from Asaba, they are majorly based in Lagos, Ekiti and Akure amongst other states. Their main strength, he further explained is in “hotel bookings and reservations, staff recruitment, training and orientation, general setup, management and consultancy services.”
IDL Doles Out N150m Miss Hip Beauty Pageant Set To Hold Nov 30 To Customers T By Tony Nwanne T was fun galore last week when one of Nigerian’s leading indigenous brands, Intercontinental Distillers Limited (IDL, makers of Chelsea Dry Gin) rewarded customers’ loyalty by giving over N150million in cash and prizes during its Annual Distributors’ Award recently held in Lagos. Held at the Airport Hotel, Lagos, it was indeed an entertaining night for the awardees as the award ceremony was well attended by distributors from all over the country with Sir Mathew Ugwueze of Blessed Mattex, emerging the overall winner, winning a Platinum award, the sum of N7.2 million and a three-tonne truck. Other platinum award winners, Asizebu Enterprises and Merdian Marketing, went home with N6.4million and N5.19million as well as three-tonne trucks each. The Managing Director of Intercontinental Distillers Limited, Patrick Anegbe in his address acknowledged the hard work and success recorded by the distributors in the previous year despite harsh business climate in Nigeria. He announced that the factory expansion project would be completed and commissioned in September this year. He noted that in the previous year, two distributors were caught aiding and abetting the faking and adulteration of their products. He said the culprits were handed over to the Police and blacklisted and are no longer distributors for the company. Mr Innocent Oboh, Head Marketing IDL, said the company’s commitment to remaining the first in the wine and spirit segment will compel the re-launch of some of the brands . “The essence of this is to ensure improved packaging of our products to command more shelf appeal, market acceptance and more importantly, satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of our valued customers,” he added. He concluded that apart from the re-launch, consumers can look forward to the introduction of new brands as IDL will expand her market in the new business year. Other prizes given out at the award include washing machines, double- door fridges, deep freezers, generators, sets of executive leather chairs as well as various cash rewards. Also, in an unprecedented move for the company, a member of staff from the sales department, Isaac Agbana was given N750,000 as reward for managing the portfolio of the three platinum winners.
I
By Tony Nwanne HE organizers of the Miss Hip Beauty Pageant have concluded plans to hold the second edition of the pageant come November 30 at the prestigious Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. Speaking during a recent media briefing on the preparation for the event, CEO Posh Event Concept, Eric Ezekiel, explained that the idea behind the Miss Hip Pageant is to celebrate the unique beauty, curves and brains of the model Nigerian woman. According to him, “Africa, rich in culture and natural resources, has wonderful women with unbeatable body structure and admirable intellectual acumen worth celebrating and showcasing to the world.
Unlike the norm where pageants are patterned after the European standards, Miss Hip is aimed at unearthing, showcasing and celebrating the unique beauty, royalty, culture and style of Africa”. Wilfred Brown, Project Manager of Smile Global Entertainment Limited noted: “Miss Hip Nigeria is meant to discover the curviest beautiful girl in Nigeria from among contestants who are expected to be between the ages of 18 to 30 and with brains to portray the true African woman in good light. Miss Hip is a pageant to celebrate the perfect figure-eight body structure that also houses a sharp and brilliant mind. “This year’s edition is designed to parade contestants representing all the geographical lo-
cations in Nigeria as auditions will hold in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt. Shortlisted models will be camped for two weeks in-house, where they would be put through a series of coaching and screening that will eventually bring out the finesse and unique African attributes in them before the contest proper”. He added that the eventual winner of the contest will go home with a car, an all-expense paid trip to Dubai plus monthly salary all through her one-year tenure as Miss Hip. There are also cash and other exciting prizes for the first and second runners-up, as well as consolation prizes for the fourth and fifth place winners.
Mystro Returns with Skelebe … set for school tour By Daniel Anazia NE year after the release of O his hit single, Ojoro, teenage sensation, Mystro has hit the airwaves and music stores with another smashing new single, Skelebe, the fourth single from his forthcoming debut album. According Mystro, the new hit is diverse in style, exciting in vocal delivery and generally super confident in theme. The self-produced Skelebe is fast becoming an item in the clubs and dance halls. “I am never scared of stretching my imagination. I do different genre of music – Soul, Pop and R&B. I play all the mu-
sical instruments. I’m the future, and the world will know that through my music and my activities in the coming weeks,” he said. Signed unto Don G Entertainment, a record label with twigs in Lagos and Abuja, Mystro says he will be visiting both primary and secondary schools to train students how to play musical instruments. “I won’t stop till I make an impact in the society. The new project is a product of an unquenchable desire to make good music, even better and make the fans happy.” Born Segun Michael Ajayi, the multi-talented artiste, producer, performer, song-writer and singer shot limelight last year following the release of his
debut singles Ojoro and One Kain love featuring MTN Project star and Kedike crooner, Chidinma Ekile. Influenced by the works of Cobhams, Asa, Adele and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Mystro’s path to prominence started in 2004, when he began producing for singer Morrell. His dexterity on multiple musical instruments endeared him to some of the industry heavyweights including Illbliss, Mode 9, Junior Reid, Wale Wave, Chidinma, Faze, Rayce, Silver Saddih among others. Mystro