Nigeria Content Online

Why Art?

When I was in
primary school, my teacher used to send me to draw pictures on the
blackboard and friends with whom I went to school usually said: Midy,
you have the talent. I will say I had it inside me and it came out when
the time came. I was not forced; it is a pleasure for me to do Art.

Training

I got my training
with a senior artist in Cotonou. After that, I went to College of Art,
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, to further my
training. I also came to Agbarha Otor, the annual workshops organised
by Bruce Onobrakpeya. I got to learn things that I added to my work
there. I have been to the Agbarha Otor workshops five times now and I
enjoy it because I see friends there.

Medium

I use acrylic and I
also use coffee. I experimented with coffee and the result was okay so
I continued. Coffee is good for giving a painting an old effect. To get
the old effect, you mix it with acrylic. You just pour hot water on it
and mix it with acrylic. I learnt it from one of the senior artists in
Benin but I also experimented to get my own result. The way I use
coffee to work is different from the way I learned to use it.

Influences

I don’t like to go
through books, I want to be myself. I go to exhibitions to see
paintings but I love to be myself, to create things belonging to me.
You have people whom you appreciate what they are doing; when I went to
Agbarha Otor, Bruce Onobrakpeya influenced me. I was doing some things
before but I discovered from him another way of doing those things. I
was also influenced by most of the senior artists in Ivory Coast.

Inspiration

Ordinary life. What is happening around me inspires me. If I want to summarise everything, I will say God inspires me.

Best work so far

It is in my house,
I’m not selling it. It’s a painting but I want to protect it. Everybody
coming into my studio wants to buy that artwork so I decided two months
ago not to show it again. I placed it inside my bedroom, nobody will
see it again.

Least satisfying work

I like everything.
If I don’t like it today, I can keep it somewhere. Years or months
after, I will work on it again to give it another aspect. Some of the
works, I don’t feel them so I just keep them aside but years later, I
can have a contact with the work, I’ll go back to it. Most of my works,
I used to do them like that.

Career high point

When I went to
Dak’Art Biennale in 2006. I wanted to go in 2002 and 2004 but was
afraid because of the finance. I have a collector; I just went to see
him, to tell him that I’ll like to go to Dakar Biennale. The first
answer he gave me was I will buy you a ticket so I was so happy. I went
to see what was happening, that people had always told me about.

Favourite artist living or dead

I have to thank
Agbelusi Abiodun, he is the one who asked me to come to Nigeria to show
my work. He started asking me in 2002 but I was scared until I decided
to come in 2005. People like him are rare, most people like to keep
things to themselves but I don’t like such people. There is also
Romuald Hazoume, one of the senior artists in Benin. He also made me
like what I’m doing.

Ambitions

I’ll like to have a
centre that I will call Midy Art Centre where I will teach people what
I’m doing because when God has given you something, you have to give
back to others. I want to share what I know with other people. That
will be my satisfaction.

No matter how much
the producers of the Nigerian Idol may like to downplay comparisons to
Idol West Africa, they are bound to occur and this is something they
will have to live with.

First of all, apart
from the sight of the hopeful contestants who sing their hearts or
voices out and sometimes make a fool of themselves trying to get a
place on the main show, one of the features of the Idol West Africa
auditions that we especially enjoyed was the judges’ comments. Turned
into an art-form by Simon Cowell in American Idol, the sometimes acid
comments from judges help to spice up the show. One of the most
memorable episodes from Idols West Africa remains that one where Dede
lost his cool with a contestant who “dressed” like Fela. Though Dede
was later criticised for what some saw as his unnecessarily harsh
behaviour, the clip still gets a lot of hits on Youtube.

Judging from its
first two episodes centred on the Lagos auditions, there seems to be a
poor chance of us getting regaled by such theatrics from the Nigerian
Idol judges. Although some contestants were rather begging for it, the
judges nonetheless acted all “gentlemanly” and let them off lightly.
Even Yinka Davies, known for her sarcastic wit, was pulling her
punches. The best we got was when she told a lady who sang a song with
“seriously” in its key lyrics that she needed, “serious spanking”.

Granted that some
of Dede’s comments were over the top and earned him some well deserved
ire but hey, this is entertainment and the judges are part of the show;
let them do their jobs and entertain us!

To make up for the
lack of entertainment from the judges, we were bombarded with
performances from almost “all” the contestants. Okay, I exaggerate.

There were times
when you were certain that a contestant was going to make it only for
the judges to dash both yours and the person’s hopes. And other times,
you would go, “this dude doesn’t cut it for sure” only to have the dude
get not one but three yeses. The disparity in judges’ and viewers’
choice has always been a cause for debate for almost every competition
known to man. But here, the Idol judges have been quick to give us an
insight into what they were looking for. A Nigerian Idol has to have
the total package: not just a good voice but a presence that includes
dress sense, ability to display the emotion in the song and carry your
audience along. Or as simply put by Audu Maikori, the “IT factor” that
would translate into record sales.

How the judges are
expected to find all these in one person while still entertaining the
audience is really up to them and the show producers but we do demand
to be entertained.

Nigerian theatre
practitioners have called on government to demonstrate a commitment to
the arts by providing cottage theatres across the country.

The call was made
during the annual Convention of the National Association of Nigerian
Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), which held in Lagos last week. Ben
Tomoloju, a veteran journalist, theatre director and playwright,
spearheaded the demand, as a way for federal, state and local
governments to aid the development of live theatre and complement other
social amenities.

Between sport and theatre

“While I commend
Governor Raji Fashola for his giant strides, I wish to state here that
he should make it a point of duty to establish theatre cottages across
the state, while the same should be extended to every part of this
nation,” he said. “Stadia are currently being built across this state,
but everyone cannot be a footballer. Our profession is capable of doing
more for the image of this country than football can ever do, yet we
don’t get the kind of attention and funding that football gets.” He
cited the example of such cottages in Germany; and suggested that the
proposed cottages or mini-theatres should be of various sizes, with 99
to 250 persons’ capacity.

Anchor of the CORA
Stampede session, Toyin Akinosho, had a slightly different view: “While
it is good to have these theatre cottages, I would rather prefer that
the government make a policy which excluded buildings that housed
theatre space from tax as well as grant such buildings land charges
exemptions.” Tomoloju’s call was backed by actor Dejumo Lewis, who
played Kabiyesi in the classic television series, ‘Village Headmaster’.
“This is the only way we can ensure the democratisation of the
theatre,” Lewis began. “We cannot x-ray democracy if we cannot achieve
the democratisation of the theatre which is our own immediate
constituency. We should not leave theatre in the hands of (just) Wole
Soyinka, Ben Tomoloju, Femi Osofisan, Ahmed Yerima or restrict it to
the National Theatre. No! Each local government in this country should
own a mini theatre. As thespians, we are the conscience of the people
and so our mission should not be limited to the centre, just as
carrying them out in those local areas becomes a challenge without at
least a mini-theatre,” he posited amidst thunderous applause and cheers
from delegates.

Funding the arts

The agitation for
an endowment fund for the arts came up for discussion during the
convention, as practitioners lamented the damage done by lack of funds
on various projects. Delegates drew attention to the fact that most
theatrical, artistic and cultural activities in Nigeria are funded by
foreign agencies from US, UK, Japan and most recently, the Chinese. “It
is pathetic to note that we still leave the funding of our cultural
activities in the hands of the West. I don’t believe in our going
cap-in-hand to beg these organisations for funding. We should begin to
look inward. We should become our own cultural ambassadors and move our
profession forward,” said one theatre artist.

President Goodluck
Jonathan’s recent announcement of a $200 million grant for the
entertainment industries, also came under the radar. Greg Odutayo,
NANTAP’s National President, cautioned that care must be taken for the
money not to be hijacked, as he reiterated the industry’s dire need for
government support. “While we must commend the president’s gesture, the
$200 million grant for the entertainment industry is not the same as
our demand for an Endowment Fund for the Arts,” he declared. Another
member was of the opinion that the announcement was only a political
move by the president to curry favour from the entertainment industry
ahead of the 2011 election.

Credible elections

Ben Tomoloju
however charged all thespians at the interactive session to see
themselves as important agents in the quest for free, fair and credible
elections. “As theatre practitioners, we are stakeholders in the
Nigerian project and we have to play our role assiduously. Rather than
standing by the wings, we should put our profession to work to
conscientise and inform the people on the need for a violence-free
election come 2011,” he advised, adding that the election process
requires a lot of public awareness and INEC or government alone cannot
do it. “With small drama sketches, radio drama or television drama
series, we can make a lot of difference,” he concluded.

The three-man
National Delegate Council’s Electoral Panel, chaired by Nifemi
Richards, has returned Greg Odutayo unopposed for another two years’
tenure as the national president of the National Association of
Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), the apex body for theatre
practitioners, at the just concluded national convention of the body.

Odutayo took office in 2008 at the Ekiti convention, where he secured a landslide victory over Biodun Abe as the president.

CEO of Royal Roots
Communication, producers of television series, ‘My Mum & I’ and
‘About To Wed’, Odutayo was commended for the achievements of his first
tenure. Among other things, the administration brokered an insurance
deal that theatre practitioners across Nigeria can benefit from. A
NANTAP website was launched; and the administration has been very vocal
in the agitation for an Endowment Funds for the Arts.

Other members of
the executive who also returned unopposed include the deputy president,
Toyin Ogundeji; secretary general, Steph Ogundele, director of
business; and Deji-Etiwe Suleiman, who was the immediate past chairman
of Lagos NANTAP.

The fresh faces in
the National Executive Council elected and sworn-in for the first time
on Saturday, November 20, include: Adesewo Adebayo, as assistant
secretary general; Lara Akinsola, as director of finance; Ofonime
Inyang, as director of research and documentation; Ozi Okoli of NN24,
as director of publicity; Idoyen Francis, as director of productions
and screening; Patrick Okonkwo, as director, copyright and royalties;
Yinka Aiyelokun, as the chief whip; while the duo of Faith Eboigbe and
Christopher Ifezime clinched the two ex-officio positions.

Chair of the
National Delegate Council, Segun Oyewo, challenged the executive to
move the association further up to take its pride of place in the
nation’s polity, as a major stakeholder.

“Our fate and
future we have committed into your hands today because we have absolute
trust in you. Make sure that you give this association all the best.
Two years is a long time and is so very short as well, but, it is not
how short, but how well. We wish you all the best and expect the best
from you,” he admonished.

The national
delegate council also appointed a five-man constitution review
committee, chaired by Nifemi Bruce Richards, to review the constitution
of the association. This followed an earlier failed attempt by the
Biodun Abe administration.

Other members of the review committee include: Lara Akinsola
(Lagos); Gold Ikponmwonsa (Abuja); Christopher Ifezime (Delta); and
Mufu Onifade of Lagos State. The committee is expected to liaise with
chapters across the nation for their contributions and then present the
reviewed constitution for ratification at the next National Delegate
Congress, holding in Abuja, in November 2011.

The latest television talent hunt in the country, Nigerian Idol, debuted on the small screen last week.

Nollywood star,
Genevieve Nnaji attended an exclusive preview organised by the show’s
producers at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on November 21. Present at the
event were two of the three judges on the show, singer Yinka Davies and
African American entertainer, Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar fame. The
preview was anchored by the show’s presenters, Anis Holloway and Misi
Molu (aka Yemisi Fajimolu).

Also in attendance
was Rotimi Pedro, CEO of Optima Media Group, current holders of the
Idols franchise in Nigeria. He talked to NEXT about his company’s plans
for the show, as the search begins for the next Nigerian superstar.

The Idol
franchise first came in to Nigeria in 2008 but was discontinued after
only one season amidst controversies. Why has your company picked it up
and why would you be more successful with it?

Looking for the
next big star in Nigeria is something I think that is ripe at this
point in time. Over the last few years, there has been a huge
renaissance of Nigerian music. I have a two and a four-year-old kid.
When I was their age, I was singing to Shalamar and Kool and the Gang;
those were my mentors. But kids these days are singing to Banky, D’Banj
and P-Square. These are the people they know now. They don’t know about
the American scene anymore. Like I said, there is a huge renaissance of
Nigerian music and having a huge franchise like the Nigerian Idol is in
line with the mood of the country. This is the reason why we went into
it.

Is this strictly a business decision for you or is there also an altruistic desire to invest in Nigerian music?

The way we have
positioned Nigerian Idol this time around, it can never be about the
commercial aspect of it. It is purely about the altruistic, looking for
the next talent and making our contribution to the Nigerian music
scene. Over the last ten years we have done very well with sports and
we now want to make our contribution to the music sector. We are in it
for the long term. We aim to develop the next talent. Our franchise
covers 44 African countries, not just Nigeria. In the next couple of
months, we are going to launch East African Idol and the Ghanaian Idol.
We are about discovering and nurturing the African talent over the next
five years so we are in it for the long haul.

The last Idol
winner in Nigeria is yet to fully make his mark on the Nigerian music
scene, especially after much publicised misunderstandings with the then
organisers of the show. What should we expect from and for the winner
of Nigerian Idol?

The last holders of
the franchise in Nigeria lost it due to this issue of non-compliance to
obligation. So because of such issues, the owners of the franchise,
Fremantle, were looking for a respectable Nigerian/African company that
could actually project the franchise for the next few years and my
company, Optima Media Group, came along to pick it up. The [winner of
the] Nigerian Idol season one would be recorded and release an album on
Sony-BMG and all obligations in accordance with the franchise would be
respected.

Simon
Cowell expressed disappointment at the fact that many American Idol
winners had failed to become big stars. Any such fears here?

I think that
Nigerians have the ability and we have the opportunity to discover raw
talent in this country. As Jeffrey Daniels [a judge on Nigerian Idol]
said, there are people from the creeks of Ajegunle and the Niger-Delta
who may never have the opportunity for their 15 minutes of fame but
Nigerian Idol is giving them that opportunity to come out and represent
this great country of many talents. Based on this idea, we do not think
we would have any dearth of talent or problems discovering one. We had
ten thousand people that registered and above five to six thousand of
them came to the venues, three thousand in Lagos alone; surely, there
must be one or two stars in that number.

Tell us more about your company

Before we went into
music, we were mainly into sports. We hold at least 80 percent of the
market share in terrestrial sports television in this country. We have
done that for over ten years. We have now gone into music and
entertainment generally. Apart from Nigerian Idol, we would be handling
other shows like ‘Got Talent’. We have already done ‘Don’t Forget the
Lyrics’. Basically, we are building a pedigree in quality production of
music formats.

So far, much of your content is based on foreign franchises. Do you see yourselves developing totally indigenous content?

We believe in the
global village. A Nigerian guy in the Niger-Delta knows about what goes
on in North America and Europe. We want to harness the power of
globalisation and promote our own. The world does not live in isolation
or with a nationalistic toga anymore. The ethos of our company is
plugging into the global network and delivering for our people. Even
though we bring these international franchises to Nigeria, we would
leave our own mark on it. The idea is to use a global platform to
project the Nigerian image and artists that would cross over and
conquer the world.

Prior to the
Soundcity Music Video Awards of November 20, its organisers generated a
lot of hype about the calibre of the event they were planning to
unfold. The major gist was how different this show was going to be from
prior SMVAs and also from other award shows in the country. “We are
aiming for international standards,” CEO of Consolidated Media, owner
of the Soundcity brand, Tajudeen Adeputu was quoted as saying.

The show started
with the ubiquitous red carpet which the SMVAs had transformed to a
fashion show hosted by Spice TV, the lifestyle channel and sister brand
to Soundcity. The red carpet was opened only to holders of the VVIP
ticket sold at N100,000 and special guests. The dramatically and
beautifully lit runway which was hoisted at the poolside of the Eko
Hotel and Suites, Lagos, featured designs from top fashion houses
across Africa, especially Nigeria. There were exquisite designs from
Lanre Da Silva-Ajayi, Tiffany Amber and Dax Martin from South Africa,
amongst others.

The award show proper which was held at the Expo Hall of the same hotel started at about 11pm.

Uti the host

The event started
with a performance from P-Square, backed by a high-octane dance routine
from dancer, Kaffy. The announcer soon introduced the host and Big
Brother All-Stars winner, Uti Nwachukwu. Heralded by bikini clad
females and himself in glittering metallic overalls, Uti’s entrance
aimed for the dramatic but only marginally achieved it. (To balance the
bikini-clad females, at another point during the show, bikini-clad
males accompanied Adaora, host of MTN Project Fame on stage to present
an award.) There had been some sceptics on the choice of Uti as host.
However, with the sarcastic wit he displayed on Big Brother, his
supporters felt he was worthy. At the end of the day, both sides of the
debate came out justified. He had his high and low moments but there
was nothing of the spectacular, either good or bad.

Unlike last year’s
show where the sound quality was held in question, this year it was
loud and clear. For those on the balcony who were not able to feel the
raw excitement from the well-lit stage (the downside of VIP area),
there were small screens in strategic corners there and also huge ones
on the walls of the hall that transmitted high definition images. The
camera and video-editing crew did a pretty good hands-on job as there
was no way one could have missed what was happening on stage or the
power of it.

There were however
awkward moments brought on by the absence of quite a number of award
recipients. Presenters were often left standing aimlessly on the stage
after announcing a winner’s name without any clue of what to do with
the award. When this happened to Fred Amata who had to present the
award for Viewers Choice won by Buffalo Souljah for ‘Ezandlha Phezulu’,
he called on Zaaki “the man from Benue to collect the award for the man
from Zimbabwe”. This inspired move was accepted gamely by Zaaki and
brought on amused chuckles from the audience.

The performances

Still going for big
and over the top, the SMVAs had contracted almost all the big names in
Nigerian entertainment and one or two from Ghana and South Africa to
give life performances. Even so, each staged performance depended
entirely on the artists as there were little or no stage effects
provided by the organisers. The best performances came from Sasha P,
Asa and Whiz Kid who displayed some mean dance skills. D’Banj and the
Mo’Hits crew were literal crowd pullers as they (especially after
D’Banj and Don Jazzy appeared) managed to get people off their seats
and to the bottom of the stage where they roared out their love for the
Koko Master. The show all but ended there as most people left the hall
in D’Banj’s wake, leaving very few to witness Timaya, the last
performer, give his usual energetic routine.

From the lights,
cameras and stage and hall models, one thing was evident about the
SMVAs 2010: a lot of money, effort and attention to detail were put in
to this particular event, even starting way back from the runway on the
red carpet. But as Julius Agwu who was an award presenter noted, it was
sadly a solo project from Consolidated Media with no input from
external sponsors.

Although, the SMVAs is still far from what is seen at international
awards, especially at the “average” televised American award show, its
ambitions were clear. At this stage, it is only fair to say that if
Soundcity continues to set such high standards for themselves, they
will one day surpass even these so-called international standards.

Why Art?

As a child, I used
to draw a lot. I won drawing competitions when I was in Primary School.
However it was when I got into Secondary School that it finally dawned
on me that art was really what I wanted to do. I was tutored and guided
by my art teacher then, Mr. Imo of blessed memory. He was a lecturer at
the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) at the time and was also an
art instructor at my school.

Training

I gained admission
into YABATECH to study Art. I also have a diploma to teach art. Every
other knowledge I have of my craft was learnt on the job.

Medium

I use oil colours. I have done watercolours. I draw a lot but I do not touch acrylic.

Influences

Kolade Oshinowo, my
lecturer at YABATECH, is one of my major influences. However, I am not
too much into external influences. For me, the struggle in art is
listening to your voice. The constant struggle to better yourself is
also part of this. You keep moving and trying. You keep telling
yourself ‘I can do better’. Influences will come and go but you must be
focused.

Inspiration

Everything in life
inspires me. I do landscape, waterscape, figures and abstract art. I am
a rounded artist. My inspiration varies. I see art as very universal.

Best work so far

I have not gotten
one yet. My love for my pieces is temporal. I may like it for a while,
after that the feeling is gone. So I am on the search for the best
work.

Least satisfying work

After a while, I
get bored. All my past works are least satisfying. No art work is
completely finished. It’s a continuous process.

Career high point

Success is what you feel inside after your work is done. I believe every work, I do can be better.

Favourite artist living or dead

I respect Picasso a lot. Also Rembrandt. My Nigerian favourites are Kolade Oshinowo, Yusuf Grillo and Gani Odutokun.

Ambitions

To do a great painting. I also want my works to have widespread influences.

The latest television talent hunt in the country, Nigerian Idol, debuted on the small screen last week.

Nollywood star,
Genevieve Nnaji attended an exclusive preview organised by the show’s
producers at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, on November 21. Present at the
event were two of the three judges on the show, singer Yinka Davies and
African American entertainer, Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar fame. The
preview was anchored by the show’s presenters, Anis Holloway and Misi
Molu (aka Yemisi Fajimolu).

Also in attendance
was Rotimi Pedro, CEO of Optima Media Group, current holders of the
Idols franchise in Nigeria. He talked to NEXT about his company’s plans
for the show, as the search begins for the next Nigerian superstar.

The Idol
franchise first came in to Nigeria in 2008 but was discontinued after
only one season amidst controversies. Why has your company picked it up
and why would you be more successful with it?

Looking for the
next big star in Nigeria is something I think that is ripe at this
point in time. Over the last few years, there has been a huge
renaissance of Nigerian music. I have a two and a four-year-old kid.
When I was their age, I was singing to Shalamar and Kool and the Gang;
those were my mentors. But kids these days are singing to Banky, D’Banj
and P-Square. These are the people they know now. They don’t know about
the American scene anymore. Like I said, there is a huge renaissance of
Nigerian music and having a huge franchise like the Nigerian Idol is in
line with the mood of the country. This is the reason why we went into
it.

Is this strictly a business decision for you or is there also an altruistic desire to invest in Nigerian music?

The way we have
positioned Nigerian Idol this time around, it can never be about the
commercial aspect of it. It is purely about the altruistic, looking for
the next talent and making our contribution to the Nigerian music
scene. Over the last ten years we have done very well with sports and
we now want to make our contribution to the music sector. We are in it
for the long term. We aim to develop the next talent. Our franchise
covers 44 African countries, not just Nigeria. In the next couple of
months, we are going to launch East African Idol and the Ghanaian Idol.
We are about discovering and nurturing the African talent over the next
five years so we are in it for the long haul.

The last Idol
winner in Nigeria is yet to fully make his mark on the Nigerian music
scene, especially after much publicised misunderstandings with the then
organisers of the show. What should we expect from and for the winner
of Nigerian Idol?

The last holders of
the franchise in Nigeria lost it due to this issue of non-compliance to
obligation. So because of such issues, the owners of the franchise,
Fremantle, were looking for a respectable Nigerian/African company that
could actually project the franchise for the next few years and my
company, Optima Media Group, came along to pick it up. The [winner of
the] Nigerian Idol season one would be recorded and release an album on
Sony-BMG and all obligations in accordance with the franchise would be
respected.

Simon
Cowell expressed disappointment at the fact that many American Idol
winners had failed to become big stars. Any such fears here?

I think that
Nigerians have the ability and we have the opportunity to discover raw
talent in this country. As Jeffrey Daniels [a judge on Nigerian Idol]
said, there are people from the creeks of Ajegunle and the Niger-Delta
who may never have the opportunity for their 15 minutes of fame but
Nigerian Idol is giving them that opportunity to come out and represent
this great country of many talents. Based on this idea, we do not think
we would have any dearth of talent or problems discovering one. We had
ten thousand people that registered and above five to six thousand of
them came to the venues, three thousand in Lagos alone; surely, there
must be one or two stars in that number.

Tell us more about your company

Before we went into
music, we were mainly into sports. We hold at least 80 percent of the
market share in terrestrial sports television in this country. We have
done that for over ten years. We have now gone into music and
entertainment generally. Apart from Nigerian Idol, we would be handling
other shows like ‘Got Talent’. We have already done ‘Don’t Forget the
Lyrics’. Basically, we are building a pedigree in quality production of
music formats.

So far, much of your content is based on foreign franchises. Do you see yourselves developing totally indigenous content?

We believe in the
global village. A Nigerian guy in the Niger-Delta knows about what goes
on in North America and Europe. We want to harness the power of
globalisation and promote our own. The world does not live in isolation
or with a nationalistic toga anymore. The ethos of our company is
plugging into the global network and delivering for our people. Even
though we bring these international franchises to Nigeria, we would
leave our own mark on it. The idea is to use a global platform to
project the Nigerian image and artists that would cross over and
conquer the world.

Professional
dancers from Congo Brazzaville, Germany, Mozambique and Nigeria will
perform at this year’s edition of Danse Meets Dance which will run from
December 1 to 4 in Lagos .

At a press
conference to announce the event, Mfon Umana, Director of Communication
and public relations officer, Alliance Francaise Lagos, said that the
event aims at highlighting the creative and original choreographic work
of professional Nigerian dance practitioners.

She also intimated
the press of the highlights of the Dance festival which is in its tenth
year. “As we mark a milestone this year Danse meets Dance 2010 will be
bigger with the participation of 8 Nigerian companies. Furthermore the
three winners of the 8th edition of The Danse L’Afrique Danse Festival
an international biennial contemporary dance competition that took
place in Bamako, (Mali) three weeks ago will be present to display
their award winning [routines] on the stage of Danse meets Dance (DMD).”

On the choice of
the University of Lagos and the French School as venues, DMD Festival
Director Adetona Gboyega said, “We chose UNILAG because this year we
are taking it closer to the audience. So that people who usually do not
have the opportunity to go to the MUSON Centre to watch dance festivals
will be able to do so this time around. UNILAG is open and they want us
to do a lot with them so we will also feature a lot of creative arts
students. At the same time, the university is close to Surulere, one of
the areas we are not close to, so we chose there to be closer to the
people.

The event is being
organised by the Alliance Francais and the French Cultural Centre in
partnership with the Goethe Instituite who is sponsoring through a
German troupe coming to Nigeria. It’s free and open to all”.

Troupes that will
perform at the four day event, which will feature dance performances
and workshops, include: Studio Maho (Congo Brazzaville), Cie Horacio
Macuacua (Mozambique), Qudus Onikeku (Nigeria) and Alajota
(Nigeria).Others include Gintersdorfer/Klaben (Germany), Squazd
1(Nigeria), Creative Arts Student UNILAG (Nigeria), Lycee Francais
Lagos (Nigeria), Ashiedu Dance Company (Nigeria) and Amulegbajo Company
(Nigeria).

Danse meets Dance
began in 2001 as an avenue to bring together Nigerian and international
contemporary dance companies to share ideas and experiences and how to
promote regional understanding and integration through dance. The
festival also showcases Nigerian dance companies, dancers and
choreographers through stage performances, workshopS and seminars.

Over the years, it has attracted over 500 professional and amateur dancers from all around the globe.

The 2010
Association of Movie Producers (AMP) Eko International Film Festival
started at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, on Monday, November 22
with the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, in attendance.

The governor’s
presence seemed a big issue to the filmmakers as they prepped
themselves prior to his arrival. The emcee, actor and TV programme
host, Bimbo Manuel, continuously warned the others to put their mobile
phones on silent or in vibration mode and stop moving about, as Fashola
would soon join them.

Veteran filmmaker,
Eddie Ugbomah, was among those who didn’t heed Manuel’s plea. His Fela
Anikulapo Kuti’s ‘Trouble Sleep’ ring tone startled even him as he
stood beside the governor

Mr Governor, please intervene

AMP president, Paul
Obazele, welcomed guests to the occasion. He disclosed cheekily that he
fasted and prayed for two weeks to be able to see the governor and
invite him. “He is my friend but because of the nature of his job and
demands on him, it is sometimes difficult to reach him,” he said.
Obazele noted that the filmmakers have a cordial relationship with the
Lagos State government but reminded Fashola of some promises he had
made to them earlier.

The AMP president
said they had fulfilled all the conditions demanded by the government,
including having a united house and improving the quality of their
productions. He appealed to the governor to help them combat piracy,
create a fund for filmmakers to draw from and establish neighbourhood
cinemas to show their works. “All of us have invested but have never
reaped the fruit; it’s a monster that is threatening movie producers,”
Obazele said while highlighting the effects of piracy. He also reminded
Fashola of his promise to introduce Cinematography as a course at the
Lagos State University.

For members only

The festival
director, Zach Orji, perhaps spoke the minds of the artists when he
expressed happiness at Fashola’s presence. He commended the Lagos State
government for always supporting filmmakers and disclosed that the wife
of the governor, Abimbola, had participated in past editions. The
popular actor noted that this year’s edition of the festival was
organised specifically for members, as it included film financing,
writers and coproduction fora. He added that there would also be
keynote speeches on “various sectors that touch the industry.” Orji
also acknowledged AMP’s collaborators, including the National Theatre.
“I hope that we would have moved a step further in the quest to grow
the industry after the festival,” Orji concluded.

Our own Broadway

Fashola, who spoke
extemporaneously, began by saluting the doggedness of the artists. He
noted that despite people’s reluctance to associate with actors in
times past because they were perceived as the wretched of the earth,
they have made significant contributions to the country’s economy. “I
shudder to think what would have happened if those pioneers hadn’t
opened the economy that was there, that so many of us couldn’t see,” he
said.

The governor also
commended the artists for joining the fight to ensure that the National
Theatre wasn’t privatised. “We should learn to put proper value and
take ownership of what is ours and be proud of it. People go to
Broadway… this is our own Broadway.”

Pirates are our brothers

Fashola made the
artists happy when he assured them that the government will join them
in the fight against piracy. “Piracy is a problem, it undermines the
returns that you get and it undermines your effort. But I can start by
saying you should never despair, you should never give up. The people
who pirate your work are also our brothers and sisters. Let us
understand that they do not dislike you. It’s not that they have a
personal quarrel with you but there is an economic opportunity there
and that is the best way they have responded to it. It is for us as
leaders to show that there is a better way, a way in which we can take
them along.

“And as I said when
I first met with you, they would become your distributors, marketers
and agents and everybody will have a win-win situation. It will require
advocacy, it will require even better communication from us, not only
from you. How many movies have we made about the ills of piracy? Have
we made many to educate people? It’s one thing to go and shut down the
place today but if people don’t understand why they must change, we
fight a very difficult battle.

“I will work with
you, hopefully using science and innovation to help further protect the
quality of your final output. I’ve made contact with some people that I
think can assist us, who are consulting for the government, from
Harvard University. They are very sensitive to the development of this
economy and are willing to help. Where it takes us, I don’t know, but I
have never been afraid to try.”

Look beyond government

He also advised the
filmmakers to look beyond government for financial support. “Banks in
this country, like in any other country, exist for one purpose: to lend
money… If the business is strong, if the business is good, if the
business is well presented, banks will support it. You and I have to
wear our creative caps and put on our creative thinking ability to make
this business more finance-friendly. Government alone can’t do it.”

Though he didn’t
rule out the possibility of government support, the governor urged
patience on the part of the filmmakers. “The idea of a government
supported fund, I take on board, but you will allow me not to make a
commitment because I think somebody has been sharing information with
you from inside my government. Until I finish what I’m doing in that
area, I will not announce anything. But you will get support from our
government.”

Restorer of dignity

Fashola further
noted that the moviemakers’ contribution extended beyond Nigeria and
just paying taxes. He lauded them for “helping to imbibe and sustain
dignity in people who will never have had the chance. People who
ordinarily would have gone cap in hand begging to live, they have the
opportunity to do dignified work for a dignified pay and be proud of
society.”

He promised that
their request for a section for Nollywood in his government’s proposed
film village in Badagry will be granted just as he assured that Lagos
places premium on tourism.

Sadly, it appeared that the opening ceremony was all the filmmakers
cared about, as they failed to provide a detailed programme of events
for the week-long event that ended on Friday.