18 already?? Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde’s son marks birthday with Sound Sultan, Patoranking

Sound Sultan, Patoranking and Denrele Edun were some of the Nigerian celebrities that turned up for Omotola Jalade's son, M.J Ekeinde's 18th birthday. The actress' son, who is the second of four children, is an aspiring musician. They grow so fast!

Where is the change? - Bob Manuel asks Buhari

– Nollywood actor Bob Manuel has waded into the current economic crisis rocking the country – He called on the Buhari-led government to bring the much desired change it promised Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Veteran Nollywood actor, Bob Manuel has joined the list of entertainers who has lamented the suffering and anguish Nigerians have been made to go through in the name of ‘change’. In a chat with Punch, he called on the Buhari-led government to bring the much desired change it promised. The actor said due to the epileptic power supply in the country, he may develop hypertension should he calculate how much he spends buying fuel to power his generator.

“People are suffering, there is no money. People are not smiling. These days, you hear stories of food theft because of the bad situation of things. All is not well for now. ” I now use generators more than most Nigerians. We have no choice due to poor power supply in the country. I rely mostly on generator for my power needs. I cannot estimate how many hours I enjoy government power supply in a day, sometimes there is electricity today, and tomorrow there is none. It’s an on-and-off situation. Sometimes, there could be no power for weeks and I often forget there’s anything called government power supply. It’s just like what every other Nigerian experiences. “I have three generators in my house. It is not deliberate and it is not to prove being rich, but it is because of the condition we have found ourselves in this country. I run one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the night. By doing this, I will be able to lengthen the lifespan of the generators. Of course, running the generator throughout the day creates a deep hole in the pocket, but what can we do with the epileptic power supply in the country? “I have stopped calculating the amount. It is painful. You can just imagine if someone is spending just N1,000 per day to run a generator, in a month, you would have spent N30,000. Many Nigerians spend more than that per month. Personally, if I calculate what I spend on powering my generators, I will develop high blood pressure. I don’t bother again and of course there is no hope that power supply in this country will improve. “No hope,” he echoed. “There is none and I will tell you why. The issue of power supply in this country cannot be solved in a day. The problem was caused by a particular set of people in this country who don’t want to see things work. Twenty years ago, having a generator was by choice, not something everybody had. Only a few people had it. But things got worse afterwards and now the importation of generators is big business and the importers are making billions of naira from it. “Some of the importers are big people in this country who are doing everything they can to not make power supply improve. Some of them partially own the companies that manufacture generators. These people are in the government and wield huge influence. I am pessimistic we can succeed in getting good power supply again in this country. If it is ever going to happen, it will involve the shedding of blood because the cabal will be ready to do anything for their business to keep thriving. I am putting this as a challenge to the government, let them prove me wrong. We can never get stable power supply again in this country,” the movie icon reinstated. Just last week, ATL based rapper, Eldee expressed his dissatisfaction with the Buhari-led government, stating that President Buhari’s government is not the way forward for Nigeria in a series of tweets insisting that it was a huge mistake to have thought otherwise. 

Why Genevieve dumped me –Okechukwu Joseph, actor

Determined to make a difference, Okechukwu Joseph ventured into the movie industry but after about a decade, the actor believed that he had not made the desired change. and so he travelled to the United States where he enrolled at the New York Film Academy. The result of this is a soon-to-be released movie entitled, Second Chance. In an interview with Christian Agadibe, Joseph talks about his new film, aborted romance with star actress, Genevieve Nnaji and his plans for Nollywood.

How does it feel to come back home after your academic sojourn in America?
I am more than happy to be home. It was strictly an academic sojourn. I got into the movie industry in 1996, shot my first movie in 1997 and 10 years later, I felt it was a good time for some upgrade at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios; Hollywood was the best choice I ever made. I loved every bit of my experience there. It was life changing.
What project have you been able to accomplish after school and are there any specific benefits of your return to Nollywood?
After I finished from film school I produced a movie in Maryland. The movie is entitled Second Chance. Ever since I have had a few post-production hiccups here and there but thank God, all those are giving way now and Second Chance will soon be released in Nigeria. I am excited to announce that one of the big Hollywood producers/directors with whom I went into partnership some years back is finally here in Nigeria for good. He brought loads of hi-tech equipment and there is now a huge studio set up in Calabar. We intend to extend production services to different parts of the country at a rate never before heard of. The idea is to encourage professional filmmaking without breaking the bank. And we also want to start connecting our Nollywood producers with foreign distribution outlets in America, Europe and beyond.
Did you play a role in the movie?
Of course! I acted in the movie. I was one of the lead characters.
What do you like about the character you played?
The role I played was very sensitive and tasking. It was a challenge I was very happy to take. It had way too many significant transitions and each transition pulled the same amount of energy and required even higher concentration and focus than the previous. It tells you how strong the story was. I conceived the story, took about 18 months to piece it together and finally wrote it in the Netherlands.
Before you left the country, which was the last movie you featured in?
Alice My First Lady! I played Amadi. I married two wives – Alice and Akunne. Alice was the first and for some reasons, I paid a terrible price for my choice of a second wife, Akunne. Alice beat the crap out of my rather fragile Akunne. I think a lot of people like that movie. I do too. Very hilarious! I have featured in over a hundred movies but every time I step out all I hear is ‘Amadi, Alice’s husband’. Or you see some women clapping their hands and cracking up at the sight of me. Ladies laugh me to stupor sometimes because they see me as the weakling of a man who made Alice their perfect symbol of defiant womanhood.
Growing up, were there signs that pointed you in this direction?
Yes. I come from a family of five. I have just a brother and a sister. So, usually, when I was much younger, I would spontaneously just entertain my family and make everybody laugh especially my mother. I could mimic like crazy. Actually, my mom thought I would become a comedian so she fought so hard to distract me from the entertainment industry. You see, she enjoyed my performances but she wanted me to be an engineer because her other son is a medical doctor and the girl is a lawyer. But hey, I am who I am and I have absolutely no regrets.
 What is the craziest thing a fan has done to you?
A female fan once brought out her breast in an open place and gave me a marker to sign on it. It was very bizarre. I begged her to let me sign on her chest and she insisted. Trust me I had no choice. I did it! Just made sure my hands were at the upper end of the marker pen.
What is your kind of woman?
Classy, clean and confident.
Has any one of your female colleagues ever solicited sex from you while in the process of shooting?
Truth is a lot of people didn’t know that all that while that I was shooting movies everywhere I was still a virgin! I didn’t know how to explain this to ladies especially. People thought I had other strange feelings. One of my directors even confronted me at some point wanting to know if I was hiding some ailment. It was on the set of this director that two young women attempted to rape me in my hotel room. I will never forget this. It was Singapore Hotel, Ikeja, where we lodged. The movie was Karishika 2. We had returned from a shoot so I left my door open. They came in, stripped themselves halfway and pounced on me. I fought with them for nearly 25 minutes. They gave up when I threatened to stab them. I lied that I had a knife. That was probably the third time that I had had that kind of experience.
Were they your colleagues?
Of course! They were upcoming artistes. They were also part of that movie. Everybody else was fair game, but I was ‘forming superman’ so I could understand their frustration. And they were a crazy bunch. You don’t come across girls like that every day – whether in Nollywood or elsewhere. It was something else.
 Why did you find it difficult to mingle like others?
I had no difficulty mingling. What I had issues with was entangling- copulating. And like I said earlier, I wasn’t ready because I was a virgin and I didn’t want to tell anybody. I was always making excuses about why I couldn’t ‘get down.’ In fact this is one of the reasons my very short relationship with Genevieve was such a disaster. This is the first time I am admitting this publicly. Genny and I met and became friends on the set of Mark of the Beast. Of course in her very early days. It was as though we were in some type of experiment. But I learned a lot about her within that short period. Two unforgettable moments- the day she introduced her little brother to me and the day she told me literally everything about herself. She trusted me that much. My mind was racing like crazy and I kept wondering how so little people knew about this young Amazon who was out to play the Esther for her family and did she? She felt like family to me. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go further because of my funny little ‘virgin’ secret. Not that she solicited or asked for anything but of course, my body language was downright repulsive to that effect and it didn’t take anything for any woman with brains to figure it out. She was so full of pragmatic energy and so on-the-go- like woman on a mission. Never ready to play around with stuff she couldn’t put up with. I hope she’s still that way. She has got an incredible story to her glory.
If you have that kind of opportunity with Genevieve again, would you take things to the next level?
I don’t know what you mean by ‘the next level.’ But I would love to play by my rules book at this moment. However, there is not going to be any such opportunity. The young woman has moved on ever so predictably and I’m the happiest for her.
How do you handle those fans coming to you with crazy demands?
If you can’t grant some one’s crazy demands, it simply means that what you have to offer is incompatible with what they’re looking for. So offer what you have. In other words, deploy your self control parachute as politely and
Aside acting, what else do you do on the side?
I do business. I’m obsessed with new technology. At the moment there is a revolutionary product that I have been promoting in Nigeria. It is known as Atmospheric Water Generator. It is like a regular water dispenser but in reality, as the name implies, it produces water out of thin air. I mean pure, clean, drinking water from humidity! Water produced by this machine is regarded as the purest, cleanest drinking water known to mankind today. It is more than business and I see it as a mission that is why I went into it. You can read more about my business on Fountain Royale Atmospheric Water Generator. Or check it on our website at Aquavolve LLC where you will see machines that are capable of producing as much as 5,000 liters a day from the humidity in the air. Whole neighborhoods can be supplied and boreholes could be a thing of the past with our machines.
Now that you are back in town, what should fans expect from you?
Fans should expect some really good stuff from me. I have done like five movies and one TV series since I returned from the United States. I am currently working on a few others.

diplomatically as you possibly can. You don’t want to get unnecessarily caught up in an ever blazing fan fury. It hurts sometimes.

‘Seeing things from different perspectives drive our creativity’

Marketing communication budget now slashed by 60 percent

The Chief Operating Officer of 7even Interactive, a marketing communication agency, Tayo Agboola has said that its company philosophy, which is driving its creativity, is seeing things from different perspectives rather than being bogged down with old beliefs and idiosyncrasies.

Agboola stated that “Hunger to shatter old records sets 7even Interactive apart as it drives us to see things from different perspectives rather than being bogged down with old beliefs and idiosyncrasies.”

He stated that in coming with a strategy that guides a marketing effort, he and his are usually willing to go the extra mile because they know that is one way to stand out and deliver on brand promise for the clients.

For him, it is because the demand of the clients from agencies is be up because consumer behaviour is becoming more dynamic by the day.

“Consumers behaviour is dynamic, and things are changing very fast, we are no longer in the age of ‘this is how we use to do it’, if you want to stand tall among your competitors, you must go the extra mile.”

He disclosed that one of the things that keeps the agency going is its creative process and hunger to do more, noting that the agency would not have competed favourably well with older agencies that have been in the system for the past twenty years if not for rich creativity of its team.

According to him, the notion that the agency which started a couple of years back is young is not totally right as the cumulative years of the team running the company more than compensates for the relatively young age of the marketing communication firm.

Commenting on how the unfavourable economic situation is affecting the marketing communication sector, Agboola, who expressed optimism that Nigeria will come out strong, especially if the rights things are done, noted that the situation is quite critical resulting in clients cutting budget by about sixty per cent sometimes.

Head Creative of the agency, Ndukwe Onuoha, stated that the diverse backgrounds of its personnel complement the dynamic operating environment to bring out uncommon creative juice that defy the myths and break the odds. “We are not shackle down with the common ‘this is the way we do it syndrome”, he said.

Mr Biggs launches promo to mark 30th anniversary

The United Africa Company Restaurant (UACR), in collaboration with Coca-Cola, recently launched an in-store promotion to celebrate and reward their teeming customers nationwide. The promo tagged, Mr. Bigg’s Shout-out also marked the 30th anniversary of the fast food outlet.

While urging members of the public to take advantage of this gesture from the brand and share in Mr. Bigg’s joy, UACR Marketing Manager, Mrs. Eustesia Ogunnusi, said the launch of the promo was to celebrate and reward their customers. She added, “Coca-Cola has also provided branded 50cl PET drinks with the inscription ‘Mr Biggs @ 30’ to celebrate the brand and excite our customers.”

Human Resources Manager, UACR, Mr. Bola Olatinwo, said the outlet evolved from reactions to the growing demand for greater variety in fast food offerings for freshly baked, hot snacks and meals.

“At its opening for business to the general public, the outfit shocked business with its possibilities. The customers count easily hit the roof, thus, making it one of the top 10 fast foods restaurants in the world in terms of customer counts,” Olatinwo said.

Olatinwo reminisced, “the first restaurant on 51 Marina Street, Lagos was opened in 1986, and at that time, only a limited menu of pastries; beef, chicken and apple pies, sausage rolls, doughnuts and beef burgers was available, a far cry from the extensive menu on offer today.”

He said the second restaurant opened two years later, in 1988, and thereafter, one restaurant was opened in Lagos every two years. By 1995, the fast food outlet had opened five restaurants in Lagos, and moved to Port Harcourt.

According to him, the outlet’s chain grew steadily expanding across key cities in the country until it had developed a network of over 125 restaurants. “In October 2010, in response to the yearnings of our customers, we officially launched our “All New Look” Mr. Bigg’s. This involved a total re-engineering in terms of product offering, packaging, logo and the restaurants look and feel,” he said.

The Manager said the QSR brand has affected lives in various ways amongst which are the franchising model of business operation – a platform that creates opportunity for entrepreneurs to put their skills to use in owning and running a Mr Biggs restaurant; provision of direct employment to thousands of Nigerians through its network of restaurants spread across the country, as well as indirect employment for suppliers, contractors and other business partners.

Tightened liquidity in banks pushes up interest rates

LAGOS— Interest rates may come under fresh pressure as Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, continued its contractionary monetary policy measures last week, squeezing out about N441.2 billion from the financial system, thereby pushing rates up to 25.6 per cent for interbank overnight funds. The rate had opened last week at 24.8 per cent. Last week, the first tranche of the CBN operation came at previous week’s rate of 18 percent for N205 billion worth of treasury instrument on Tuesday, but money market dealers said the apex bank spiked the rate two days later to 18.5 per cent for N236.1 billion worth of instrument, a development which did not only push up the overall market rates but also signalled further rise in lending rates to banks’ credit customers in the days ahead, if the spike rate continues. Banks had raised their lending rates last month, following the jerk up in Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, to 14 per cent by the CBN, which was followed by steady rise in rates at the fixed income market and government securities. Prime lending rates had since spiked beyond 20 per cent with most banks at over 25 per cent, while other categories of borrowers were slammed over 30 percent interest rates. Treasury executives in banks explained that with the increasing rates in fixed income securities and government securities which are near-zero risk, banks would rather channel their funds to those areas rather than private businesses, though they still lend to secured and profitable businesses at new interest rates. They also explained that the financial system does not have the luxury of liquidity to go round all the prospective borrowers given the current monetary policy regime which has been tightening liquidity in recent weeks.  

Bayelsa CJ’s Son Dies in Swimming Pool

Mr. Wariebi Abiri, son of Justice Kate Abiri, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, has died under circumstances described as mysterious.

A Law graduate and student of the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, Abiri reportedly died in a swimming pool last Friday night in the Federal capital.

The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, however, yesterday expressed deep shock over the untimely death of the young man.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson had also called on the authorities to immediately probe the death.

The governor made the call during a condolence visit to the chief judge at her residence in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He regretted the circumstances under which the judge’s son died and pledged the state government’s collaboration with the police and other relevant agencies to unravel the cause of his death.

Dickson described Wariebi as a focussed and promising young man, who was preparing to make a wonderful career in the legal profession, adding that his demise was a painful loss to the Abiri family and the state.

While urging the family to see what has happened as the will of God, Dickson prayed to God to strengthen and grant them the grace and fortitude to bear the loss.

“As a government, rest assured that we will stand with you shoulder to shoulder in this very, very challenging period, especially in working with the police and other relevant agencies of the government to unearth the real cause of his death,” the governor said.