26/ NEWS
08.04.2016
National Troupe Gets Royal Blessing Mary Ekah The National Troupe of Nigeria recently got an endorsement from the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, when the royal father commended the management, staff and artistes of the Troupe for putting up a spectacular performance in his honour at a reception organised for him by the Cuban Embassy in Abuja. The Ooni who said that he was thrilled by the dance drama that the troupe put up to honour him described it as colourful, energetic and evocative performance. ‘’I was totally thrilled by the performance. The National Troupe should take this kind of performance everywhere. They should be on tour promoting and propagating our rich cultural heritage. I know funding is a challenge but I want to join my voice to the call for increased funding and attention for the National Troupe. They are propagators of our culture. I am impressed and we should do more to encourage the troupe and artistes generally,” the Ooni said. At the reception held at the residence of the Cuban ambassador and attended by high net worth guests including the Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, the National Troupe staged a dance drama titled ‘Yemoja’. The Director in charge of Drama of the National Troupe, Ms. Josephine Igberease, directed it. ‘Yemoja’ is a colourful and fast pace piece laced with chants and heavy drumming. The piece is designed as an evocative homage to Yemoja, the Yoruba goddess of the sea. The performance of Yemoja for the Ooni typified the evocation that is usually captured in worships among the
Yoruba in the Americas. The performance inculcated the spiritual ambience quite commemorative of the candombie sessions common in Yoruba diasporic spiritualism. But the performance in honour of the Ooni was just one of the performances that the National Troupe put up in Abuja. The Troupe had on February 14, 2016 –Valentine Day, collaborated with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the staging of a dance drama titled ‘Love Nigeria’. The dance drama held at Abuja Unity Square and it was focused on the need to promote patriotism and loyalty. The Artistic Director of the National Troupe, Akin Adejuwon, explained that the dance drama was staged to complement NOA mobilisation programme series ‘Do the Right Thing Fall in Love with Nigeria’, which the NOA intends to prosecute from state to state. Besides, the Artistic Director stated that the project aims at promoting the values of love and selflessness among Nigerians. ‘’Given the
background of insurgency, regional agitations, religious and cultural proclivities which are currently affecting our national cohesion, the need to encourage citizens to use the pervasive ambience of love at valentine to reflect on the positive achievements of our nation and to encourage members of the public to show selfless love for our country even as we show love to our fellow citizens cannot be over-emphasised’’, he said. The highpoint of the Troupe’s weeklong performance tour of Abuja was a performance at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Abuja. The Troupe put up its touring piece ‘Murna’ at the IDP camp located in Garki and at the games village in Abuja. ‘Murna’ written by Mike Anyanwu and directed by Josephine Igberease, was conceived by the National Troupe to be staged as part of its IDP performance project which it flagged off in December 2015 with a performance at the IDP camp in Bauchi.
Nollywood Movies Awards Set to Dazzle Mary Ekah The Nollywood Movies Channel UK, is set to dazzle Nigerians and the world as plans for the 4th Edition of the Nollywood Movies Awards, now tagged ‘The Nolly’s’ is almost concluded. This edition is sequel to the huge success of previous editions. The 2016 edition, organisers said aims to raise the bar even higher. The Nolly’s 2016 billed to take place on May 1 at the prestigious Land Mark Event Centre, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, will be preceded by an exclusive nominees unveiling ceremony to be broadcast via a live television audience. As a result, there is huge anticipation over the forthcoming 2016 edition, promising great opportunities for Nollywood stakeholders, advertisers and category sponsors who are part of this high profile event. An off shoot of the Nollywood Movies channel in the UK, the 2016 Nolly Awards will mark the fourth year of celebrating excellence, outstanding achievement, promise and diversity in the Nigerian Film Industry. Already established as the number one movie awards event in Nigeria, it remains unique in that it is the only movie awards event that focuses exclusively on Nollywood. With 27 Nolly’s up for grabs, it promises to be the most exciting event yet.
L-R: Kola Munis, Creative Director, Dipo Winsala, Executive Diretcor Nolly Wood Movies Tv Uk, Lolo Eremie, Creative Coordinator and Kingsley Ogoro, Technical Dierctor
The Nolly Awards is not just a one-night event. It will continue to be the focus of subsequent news and Nollywood related chat shows both in the UK and Nigeria well into 2016. The glamorous inaugural awards event of 2012 was well received, seeing the thriving Nollywood industry was in need of a dedicated awards ceremony and consequently the various professional film guilds, the press and the general public gave it a seal of approval. It received wide coverage throughout the national press, on the internet worldwide and both on local and national radio and television stations.
One national newspaper commented that 'Nigeria now truly has its own Oscars in a country where everything is believed to be compromised'. The results were seen to be authentic and the winners truly deserving. The countdown campaign to May 2016 has already begun through as media sponsors alongside a number of media collaborations added to the reach. It is expected that at the height of the campaign, awareness would spread across Africa, Europe and even to the Caribbean in anticipation of the fourth edition and all 27 silver-plated Nolly’s up for grabs.
Expert Tasks Nigerians on Culture of Excellence Ugo Aliogo Convener, Excellence in Life Series, Dr. Femi Paul, is of the view that as mediocrity has affected many sectors of the economy and this doesn’t portray the nation in a positive light in the comity of nations. He therefore called on Nigerians to imbibe the culture of excellence in their daily endeavours. Speaking during the series one conference with the theme; ‘The Power of Excellence’, Paul called on Nigerians to join the campaign to rescue the country from mediocrity, stressing that it is vital to build a culture
of excellence and leave a lasting legacy for future generations because “excellence is simply about doing things well.” Paul added that the initiative also aims to set people and the nation on the course of greatness, noting that the initiative was borne out of his passion to leave a lasting excellence for future generations. He explained that excellence in life series is bi-monthly meeting which hopes to eradicate the prevalent culture of mediocrity, adding that it aims at transforming mindsets and inevitably optimize the potential of individuals, institutions and the nation in general.
According to him, “The culture of excellence is rare in Nigeria and knowing its immense transformational power, I have the task of spreading the culture of excellence power, I have undertaken the task of spreading the culture of excellence alongside other men and women. The excellence in life series is simply the platform by which I strive to eradicate the prevalent culture of mediocrity and propagate in its place, the much needed culture of excellence. Today, Nigerians prefer to use more of foreign products than made in Nigeria goods. The reason is because most foreign goods are driven by a culture of excellence.”
Chapeville School Feasts at Maiden Sports Day The pupils of Chapeville Nursery and Primary School, Ikorodu, Lagos, recently hit the fields for its novel inter-house sports at Strong Tower Academy. The school, which turned five in March, says sports is part of education; hence, to give their pupils standard, quality education the school administration injected into the system the inter-house sports competition. Speaking to THISDAY at the grand opening of the programme, the Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Olajumoke Ogunsanya, explained that it is in an effort to enhance the pupils’ learning and social skills, mentally and physically as well as give them good character and principle of fair play. “Although the calendar for this term is very tight, the children showed so much excitement and commitment during the preparation. This made some of their parents present today despite their tight schedules. We have, at least, 60 per cent of our parents here. She said that everything went smoothly as teachers were assigned to handle different aspects of the interhouse sport, the financial aspect wanted to stand as a setback but some of the parents stood up for us they gave us support.” Ogunsanya, who lamented the plight of parenting these days, appealed to government at all levels to help improve the living condition of parents so that they would take care of their children – the future leaders. “The government should create a working situation where all mothers will close at a specific time, early enough. That will enable them take care of their children. If we continue this way, I fear the future is bleak.” Meanwhile, the Head of the School, Mr. Francis Muili, gave reasons for using Strong Tower Academy field. “For a sport like this we need a very standard field because you cannot say you are organising a competition in a very small environment like ours, our field is very small our playing ground is relatively smaller than this, that is why we came this far.”
Michael George’s My God Music Video Debuts Following the recent premiere of his debut singles My God, Uwese and Chioma, Nigeria’s sensational gospel music act Michael George, has released the video of the spirit moving single ‘My God’ which has been enjoying massive airplay on Michael George Nigeria’s urban foremost radio stations. With his very unique and beautiful voice, Michael George croons ‘My God’ a song inspired by his late mother- Caroline Omogberha to delight of his listeners. ‘My God’ is a worship song that connects listeners to the awesomeness of God, ushering them into the worship mode of the Almighty, the Glorious God and certainly bringing down the Holy Spirit. The music video is directed by AJE Filmworks shows a reflection of the wonderful artwork of God’s creation through series of scenes displayed in the background. This music video incites a divine consciousness as you watch and listen to his rendition of each verse. George is a prolific singer, songwriter who respects the power of his art. With a heart that churns love and a voice that warms the heart he incites emotional and spiritual uplifting to those who connect with his unique sound. An indigene of Edo State was born in Lagos on the 10th of October. He holds a Bs.c degree in Business Administration from Lagos State University. Raised from a young age by Little Saints Orphanage, he creatively follow his passion for music and relentlessly groomed his skill, with a heart that cares for humanity and a strong desire to leave a lasting impact in the lives of many through his music. Michael George is indeed one artiste that wears his heart out on his sleeves. With a mission to draw many to God with his music, he is poised to deliver quality records that will attract both the young and old to the praise of God. His biggest musical influences are Mali Music, Michael W. Smith, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Tasha Cobbs, Nathaniel Bassey, Kerra Sheard and Don Moen. With his strong and dynamic vocal uniqueness compiled with his energetic stage presence, he has graced the stage with the likes of Midnight crew, Nosa, Monique ushering many into the presence of God.