Comedy is serious business-Koffi Nuel Idowu

Top comedian, Koffi Idowu Nuel has over the years, registered his trade mark as a force to be reckoned with in the business of comedy. The singer and actor, a Chemistry graduate of the University of Lagos, speaks on how he veered into comedy in school, his views about comedians who recycle their jokes as well as plans for the future.

Everybody knows you as Koffi, the comedian. Give us an insight into your background?
I was born Koffi Idowu Nuel and my mother is from Togo while my father is from Ibeju Lekki, Lagos. I am a comedian, actor and singer.

Take us back to your early days in comedy?
Well.... I started out from Theatre 15 at the University of Lagos when I was studying Chemistry. Prior to that, I went to Adrao Nursery School and Kuramo Primary School in Victoria Island. I also went to Moriti College, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

What inspired you to go into comedy?
Like I said, I started out as a stage actor at the University of Lagos and while I was a stage actor, my comical side gradually took over the serious part of me. So, it just metamorphosed into being who I am today - a comic character. I used to be a very naughty boy when I was young so it was just natural for me.

How would you describe Koffi?
Well... Koffi is an intellect who likes to portray himself in different areas of the arts. I have the talent so I don’t let it go to waste. I express myself through music, comedy or acting. I think I am a very simple person. Besides the job, I am an introvert and I like to keep to myself a lot except when I am on the job. I think I am a 100% Nigerian and proudly Nigerian too.

How long have you been in the comedy business and what has been your challenges?
I have been in comedy for the fun of it since 1997/98 but financially, since the year 2000 and professionally, since 2001. By the grace of God, there has been no challenges for me because I see everything as it is written by God. So, it is not exactly a challenge. You know, sometimes, we don’t always wait for God’s time as the best time. We always want to rush things but for me, I take it nice and slow, take things the way it comes and flow with the tide. So, everything that happens to me is the way God has ordained it to be. That is how I see it.

So, what is Koffi working on now?
Right now, it is Koffi and the worker man movement, I am promoting new music and my new movie, Mumu is going to be out very soon. It premiered recently. The brand, Koffi right now is all about production; music, movies and every other forms of production. It is not just about cracking jokes anymore. That is what I am working on now.

Why do you think comedians re-cycle their jokes?
It is not wrong for a comedian to say his own jokes over and over again. What is wrong is when others pilfer the jokes and make it their own and they all crack the jokes at the same time. It is wrong. It is not bad for a comedian to get to an event and find a relevant material from another comedian’s joke and use it but it is very wrong for comedians to gather together at a public concert and three or four of them will crack the same jokes. It makes no sense and I find that difficult to comprehend. I am fighting against people who pilfer other peoples’ jokes. I am really against it.

What are you doing in that regard? Are you doing anything specific?
Yes, I have been calling everybody to order. Recently, I spoke to two upcoming talents that the best way forward is to get original and serious. If people don’t take us serious, then, our industry is going to crumble and we are going to address the issue at the right forum. We don’t need to fight about it and create a mess. We will call ourselves to order, talk about it and make sense out of it.

What are the problems comedians face in the industry? Are there any peculiar ones?
For me, the way I see things, it is not exactly a problem, it is just the way society sees things. Comedians have been so stereotyped to be just stand-up comedians; people don’t try to see the other aspect of what you can do like music-comedy or acting comedy and take them serious. It is just a few people that have been able to break those barriers. For me, I have been able to veer into music production so that people can see that as a comedian, you have other talents and people can recognise those talents in you. There is a Jamie Fox in America that started from a sitcom, became a comedian and still sings beautifully. So, it can also be done here if you have the ability.

Tell us about the musical side of you?
Regarding music, I am into so many things. Right now, me and my crew would be releasing an album on December 1st and it is called All eyes open and we are trying to show that we can still do serious music. What we are doing is a full time job and should be treated as such. The same doctor that treats malaria treats cancer and also assists in giving birth to a baby. Those are different areas a doctor performs his duties. In the same vein, as a comedian, why can’t I do every other thing that I can do? As long as I don’t try to take another person’s piece of cake. I just try to express myself the best way that I can.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Basically, from the environment. When I look around, I see things that inspire me. Then, God is the ultimate inspiration and he talks to me all the time. As far as I am concerned, God is the ultimate comedian. He has it in abundance, that is why he has handed it over to us. So, God is my number one inspiration.

(Cuts in) Well... I am married and I have a baby but usually, I don’t discuss my family. Family and business are totally different.

What are your future plans?
I hope to keep blazing the trail for comedy movies. We have started the process, we have done Two black birds and Mumu and very soon, we are doing a new one called Funny movie. I hope to do a whole lot of things. Like I said earlier, I am into production. I am basically becoming a producer that would be pushing things. I will use the brand name to push out other things.

What is your parting shot to your fans?
If you want to be like me, you can’t. Just be you, put God first and and work very hard. You will get to your pinnacle and no matter how hard it is, you will get there.

I need a man in my life

Ace actress, Eucharia Anunobi speaks.

How’s your divorce case going?
We are still in court, but I am sure judgment would be passed soon. So, we take it from there.

Have you found another love?
I can’t think of another man until the first one is all over.

Have you reviewed the qualities of your man?
He’s got to be God-fearing, It is not about being handsome, tall or hardworking. All those ones are necessary but the foundation, the background, when a man has got the fear of God, then he would understand what it means to truly love a woman. That means he will cherish her. And that means he will be by her side through thick and thin; when she grows old, when she grows fat, when she’s sick. So, when a man knows God, he’s a better man. But on the other hand, one needs a man who’s got a job. It’s not about being a millionaire, he must have something he’s doing, so that he can have a sense of belonging, a sense of individuality.

Are men not disturbing you with calls since you are single again?
I haven’t seen them o. Please tell them to come o. Tell them to come very fast, I want them because my God said a woman should not be alone. And a man should not be alone too.

You still look stunning at your age, what has sustained you?
My faith in God. I have absolute faith in God. And when you have faith in God, He will just give you glory all the way.

Apart from God?
I love dancing and I take a lot of water. I am also crazy about fruits. Anybody who knows me will know I love fruits and water.

But some say sex is also good?
There are lots of other things that keep one younger and stronger.

Not sex?
That’s one. It’s a form of exercise. That’s what we know. It is one of the recipes for looking youthful, younger and a great shape for those who can get it.

What’s the hardest part of your job?
It’s when people attribute the role you have done in a movie to your personal life, forgetting that we are doing a make-believe job, that somebody wrote out the story and we are just chosen to act it. On the other hand, I will take it as a credit because it means you’ve done your job very, very well.

What’s the worst thing that has been written about you?
I don’t really put this in mind because I just consider the fact that being in the public eye, whether you like it or not, people would want to write good or bad. As they say, bad news is news and good news is no news.

When you look back, would you say you are living your dream?
Let me put it this way, I won’t say I came into Nollywood to be noticed. I just had the innate desire to do my job. I just found out that when I was small, I loved acting. So, for me, it wasn’t to be known or for material benefit but to make people happy. I remember I used to do comic stuff with my siblings.

I would wear my father’s coat and shoes to act like him or sometimes I would tie my mummy’s headgear and act like her. For now, you can say I am living my dream of entertaining people and being a role model. Then, I haven’t got to the height of my career. So, I am not living my dream completely until we shoot movies that would be accepted internationally more than what we have already.

I am also looking at movies shot with hightech equipment and a lot of money involved. It may be a kind of collaboration of international artistes in Hollywood, only then will I say I am living my dream.

What is the good thing about being an actress?
The fact that it opens doors for you, people appreciate you, you stand above the crowd.

What to you is the greatest problem of Nollywood?
We don’t have the kind of money we need to make the kind of movies we need. I give kudos to those who started the industry out of nothing. Now it has gone beyond them. We need billionaires to come into the industry to do better movies.

The industry will fall if these investors don’t come. It will fall because a lot of criticisms are coming up. People are now looking at scriptwriting, acting, directing and all other aspects of production.

So, you need money to meet up with these challenges. It is no longer what we used to produce. We have international exposure and people are expecting more.

A lot of your colleagues and even younger actresses are going into movies production, what’s delaying you?
Not everybody can be a producer. We are all cut out to do different things. Kudos to those who ventured into some other things. I have other things I am also doing. I have always been into private enterprise, which I don’t have to go about showcasing or talk about so much. For my colleagues, I watch their movies and I am happy for them.

How is your son, Joshua doing?
I thank God. It’s been hectic moving from one hospital to the other. That is why one needs a man to assist.

We want to set a reputation for safety in hospitality industry Jeffery Fischer- Sales and Marketing Director

Welcome Centre and Hotels, Lagos.

By Oliver Onuoha

 The Welcome Centre and Hotels, is designed to be not just a hotel but an events venue and conference centre. The gigantic edifice located on Muritala Mohammed Airport Road opened recently and now, prides itself to be one of the best hotels in the country. It’s a place to go to with that special person, have a business-oriented retreat, family holiday or need to take time off your busy schedule to relax.

 In an exclusive interview, Jeffery Fischer, Sales and Marketing Director opened up to Lagos Weekend that the Welcome Centre opened on the 1^st of October and barely three months, is getting quite busy by the day. “We don’t intend to run a nightclub here but in going forward we will have live music at our large out-door garden, people will have some small chops in a relaxed environment. There will be live shows, trade fairs and there are so many different facilities that will cater for different events like weddings or parties, it’s more than just a hotel. We want to convey a special meaning to the name, to be more than just a hotel but a place that people should always have a friendly reception when they come.”

On his opinion, about hospitality business in the country, Jeffery said “for most Nigerian businesses, reputation sometimes counts for nothing and lots of the other hotels that we have here, the only ones that are reputable are those who trade on their big brands and names. They have international names but here, we want to create not just the international but a global brand that any international firm coming to Nigeria, will recognize (Welcome Centre) as a truly active place that asserts high standards and hopefully a place where they will always want to come back to.

He reveals that there would be different source of memberships as the Welcome Centre houses a fully equipped air-conditioned gymnasium and squash court, pool and business centre.” We’ll have the tennis court, basket ball court and places people could book for night-outs. There will be membership for the health and fitness facilities and also for corporations as well, where people can have training, events and buy our products at discounted prices”. On safety measures, the sales and marketing director says “we take security very seriously; we have really reputable customers coming here and want them to feel safe as we want to set a reputation for safety in the industry. We have several features like in-door security, people can’t access the premises unless they sign in like in any other company, and we have fully equipped guards outside the front entrance gate, high-fence with barb-wires and we also have consultants who advise us on security issues.

Welcome Centre also has 80 tastefully furnished bedrooms with firm spring super-king sized mattresses, colour cable TV in rooms, in-room safes, and extra telephones in bathroom and hair dryers in toilets. There’s the Otto’s bar at the roof terrace for BBQs, private parties, karaoke as you can also catch all the sporting excitements too at the main bar. You could also enjoy our Wi-Fi connectivity and car hire service as the parking lot can accommodate 200 cars and more. The restaurant serves local and continental meals too.

Jeffery Fischer also told Lagos Weekend that the Welcome Centre aspires to be a five-star hotel not just by African standards but by international standards as they are looking for high value, high networked individuals and the biggest corporations. “We price our rooms to fit into every level, budget and taste. People who desire luxury, great location, who want to be active and want fun, those are the people want.

Professional actors don’t reject roles-Wale Adebayo

Wale Adebayo

By Oliver Onuoha

It was his first role as lead character in the epic film “Sango” produced by Femi Lasode that shot him into limelight. Wale Adebayo who read Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University, in this interview, lamented the ease with which other industries especially the media accuses entertainers of being involved in drug trafficking and fraud. The actor who also said he has no regret venturing into acting said he is not in support of the film industry being called Nollywood as he described it as plagiarism. For him, rejecting a role must be based on an issue of probably religion or a cause.

Foray into acting

I started acting when I was in Satellite Secondary from the dramatic society and ever since then the rest has been history.

Aside acting

As the case is right now, if I’m not acting, I am producing or directing. I am actually a film maker of some sort right now, I am a director with Wale Adenuga production and I direct Binta and Friends and Papa Ajasco and Company. I was executive producer for Makabba in 2001 and Double Game in 2007 where I also acted.

Biography

My name is Wale Adebayo, I’m an actor, was born in Abeaokuta and in between the periods I can remember, I grew up in Lagos, Satellite town primary and secondary school and Obafemi Awolowo University where I studied Law but I haven’t gone to Law school yet, I am from Ondo State.

Motivations

My motivation is not capital or the word of some sort in term of monetary values, those are not my own motivations. I’m still one of those old fashioned people that believe that art for art sake because just seeing what you’ve created and seeing it’s appreciation by people is enough to just give me a lift. Yes we need money to sustain ourselves the world has gone digital so you know you can’t afford to lack and once you know you can’t afford to lack then somewhere along the line, you still need to have  a commensurate level of monetary reward to keep you above board. But as far as my motivation goes, I think it’s just the creation of art as it is that just makes me happy.

Had you at any time wanted to quit acting?

I wish, maybe my life would have turned out better, I’m not regretting anything but maybe if I’ve had to tell myself that okay Wale you should embolden yourself and go to Law school and try to be a lawyer, I mean I went through so much crisis while I was at the university to graduate from this course. I know what my mother went through just to make sure that her son finished from school, I should not have allowed acting to take over but it does happen that you just find yourself thrust on to something that is outstandingly beyond you; it’s not just you now, it’s something that’s in control and so you just tell yourself to just ride on the crest of the wind that has overtaken me and hopes it lands me somewhere.

What do you hope to achieve in the industry?

There’s nothing yet in the film industry in Nigeria; the movie industry in Nigeria is like we just bought land, it’s like the first of owning a house, you buy the land. So the stage we are in Nigeria now is that we have the land and there are so many things we can do on that land.

We could build a Hollywood kind of environment on that land, we could build Broadway but you know, we have gone through the nitty gritty of making movies. Ogunde have shot Bread and Butter or Gun, I can’t remember the title, and they’ve shot Bisi, daughter of the river and something like the Black president, all these were shot on celluloid, Mr. Johnson was shot on celluloid by Ogunde, we have shot celluloid but you know, there are times when you probably develop faster than what you should have and that was what happened to Nigeria during the period of the doyen of the theatre during Ogunde’s period, I think we had ran too fast and all of a sudden, we couldn’t go forward and we couldn’t go backward. So what we did was recreate something lesser than what we were used to but something that will still subsist and I think that would have been the birth of well, I don’t know about Nollywood, I don’t know what that word is, I don’t want us being called Nollywood. Bollywood already took their name from Hollywood.

Today when you say Nollywood you are talking about the English movie industry and when you say ANTP you are talking about the Yoruba movie industry. At the end of the day, it broods of serious dichotomy. It’s why we can say best actor Yoruba, best actor English, I mean an actor is an actor it doesn’t matter the language you are using, at worst case scenario, we are meant to have best foreign actor because its not Nigerian. I have never supported this dichotomy of one is an English actor and one is a Yoruba actor because at the end of the day, Yoruba actors have hustled to act in English movies and English actors in Yoruba movies only because you are not an actor if you continue to limit yourself to languages.

What should the Nigerian movie industry be called?

Let us now look at the antecedent of Hollywood, how was Hollywood created, where did they get the word Hollywood from? They have a reason for calling themselves that, the place called Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, was a serious mining town where gold was going to be mined, some of the people that first built places there was C.C.B Nero who first did Ten Commandments, these are people who saw a particular place and said we could settle here and they were shooting movies there. The strip of Hollywood is a long strip, it is a town, it’s not a name for arts, and it’s a town that was created for film making and film makers. Hollywood has over five, six studios from Universal to Paramount to Fox to Warner Bros and all these people have their studios there. I don’t know what they are going to coin for the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood isn’t the right word; it just means that we are plagiarizing someone else’s creativity. If the Indians want to do it, they are not quarrelling, they have the right to. The art itself is creativity, it’s either you toll that line for them or you leave it for them and create something for yourself. Nollywood is not even encompassing the entire film industry, if we are going to do something; it needs to satisfy everybody’s yearnings, that’s what the film industry in Nigeria is all about.

What film shot you into limelight?

It’s not a secret, my name is Wale Adebayo, I played the lead role in the movie called Sango, the legendary African King, this was about twelve years ago. It’s so painful for me as an actor first and foremost to still be relevant because of the movie I did twelve years ago not because I’ve not shot movies after that or not because movies have not been shot after that but because of the lack of proper development in Nigeria since 1997, it’s why a movie like Sango would still be relevant twelve years later. We’ve had Oduduwa, Jaja of Okpobo, we’ve had so many historical cases created, done and sold but you see a lot of people might not remember who Oduduwa was when it came out, I’m sure some will still be asking when Jaja of Okpobo was created. I told somebody we are planning to do a special anniversary of the making of the movie and sound track of Sango. The movie sango was that good to remain in the minds of people till date and that’s what movies that are good get as yardstick and hallmark. Other movies that can take that finesse and style and class have been created between these twelve years period would not have had that life span it will just be amongst the list of movies that were created that have been good in Nigeria.

What favours have you received because you’re an actor?

Loads of it! You walk into a place and need someone to do something for you, I want to believe they would probably do it if I was not an actor but it was better and easier because you come in and they say hey, hi, where are you going or what do you want? Or they say aren’t you the guy who did so and so movie, what are you doing in our bank. There are times when you also loose favour there are some police people that stop you and just because they feel you are forming acting they say and then and  want to take you to the police station just because you don’t have your driver’s license with you. So, it has its own draw backs too but the advantages are a bit more.

How many movies have you don up to date?

I can’t remember, they are not loads of movies, I’ve taken some bit roles in some movies that I can’t even remember the titles. It was just one of those walk in and they say please we must use you and you do two, three scenes, I have loads of that, like ten or fifteen. Movies that I can really remember were outstanding apart from Sango is Double Game which I produced, Makaba, it’s not out yet, O’ Kings and Ultimate Warrior, One Chance, I’ve acted in four major movies, that’s what I’ll like to say but have got bit parts  movies like 150million and Omolomo.

What areas do you think the industry has done well and should improve upon?

Nollywood has been able to organize itself very well in terms of bodies that fight for their interest and all that, they’ve managed to make an impact in that regards. But improvement, we still have a lot to go by, we still need to recognize the fact that we are not alone in this business, it’s a worldwide business and we are just a small part of that crowd and they are waiting for us to actually speak out and let them hear us. The Chinese people have done it, South Africans have done it but unfortunately for us, after apartheid of all these while, they came out of it and now they even buy our movies and show it anyway they like while their movies are shown on a better platform and pedestal. Shame on us but yes, we can still improve, it is not too bad but we must accept the fact that we need to improve; we should stop taking simple criticism to heart as if we are not patriotic. I love this business, I know the way it’s been done and we are not doing it the same way and if I can not talk about it, the rest of the people who are lying that we will improve, may not. We need to make better from where we are coming from, we’ve gone bad and we need to pack it up, if you want to call me unpatriotic because of that, that’s your problem.

I am happy that Emeka Mba is restructuring the entire census board and I just pray the marketers, distributors and practitioners would find a way where we can have a platform where we can all sit down vent out various grievances, tell them what we want, I don’t want us to continue saying government has to do something, they don’t much about this business, we do.

What constraints did you face?

I was lucky, I was ready when the opportunity presented it self. I tell those up-coming actors who come to meet me for lectures and all that, that it is opportunity meeting preparedness. As an actor, you must know what to do because you are contributing to the soap that is been created, as an actor, you must bring in something and that is why you are valued. It’s why you are called an actor and once you don’t know what the rudiments of your jobs is, the essence of why you are being called an actor, and then you should coin a new name for yourself. You must be prepared always, look for text, read them, play them on your own, hear your voice speech and tell yourself, how can I say this better than how I am saying it? Learn and develop yourself.

How true is it that most actors are drug traffickers?

Let me say here that it is easy for other industries to insult us especially your won industry, you guys, most of the time are always too critical. I would rather wait for my journalist to be objective and unbiased; just because he has an opinion that the entertainment industry is besotted with people who are undisciplined, a man doesn’t have an identity any more, all has been taken away from him just in the essence of being an entertainer either an actor or a musician. You must grant the man a certain level of privacy, some certain level of normalcy, I’m not saying you know what you are coming into when you decided to be an actor and decide to be famous, yes you should anticipate the fact that your life is no longer going to be yours but even with that, they still deserve something small to take home with because we are humans. We can’t should outside, they bash your car you can’t talk, they slap you, and you’re being regarded as a role model, you’re practically everything everybody wants to look at and when you lash back abit, you become an embarrassment, and people will say I don’t even know what he thinks he’s doing. Those are the draw backs that could lead you recreating another identity for yourself, it might not be nice and pure but it’s just part of that rebellious intent that will come into you. There are so many journalists that are also drug pushers that are not known, doctors that are drug pushers, lawyers, there’s no industry that does not have their own Judas, and we are just unfortunate because we are leaving in glass houses and people can just see us for what we are not really meant to be but for what they want to perceive us as.

Do you reject roles?

No I don’t

So you would probably take any role given to you?

I’m an actor, I probably would say that you need to re-write or edit and make it better. When people say they reject roles, I ask what you mean you reject roles. You don’t reject roles; you first reject the script and the only reason why you reject the script that comes with a role, is that you don’t like the role because maybe you become religious and the role is saying you have to become nude, you can reject such a script because it goes against your religious beliefs. Like I told some people, I probably won’t play a bad boy for a while or an armed robber for a while. If you bring the role of an armed robber to me, I might reject it not because I won’t play it again but for now I just don’t want to play it anymore. You bring such a script to me and I say no I don’t want it but if the story is good and I love the story and I feel the story would make an impact, I would collect the role. A lot of my colleagues use it as a sort of let them look as if they are packaged or they are star actor. Rejecting a role must be based on an issue of probably religion or a cause or maybe for the money. You can not tell me you want to reject a role when you are actor; first and foremost it’s your job to be able to play any role but rejecting a script on the basis of it not being good, if you’re an A-class actor you have the power to tell the producer or director because they’ll respect you, say look ‘I think we can do this script like this, the story may be  a bit watery why don’t we strengthen it with scenes of such nature’. Impute something that could make the role stronger for you but don’t go ahead to tell him you’re rejecting it.

Do romantic roles go beyond acting?

No, it’s meant to end there because it’s acting. You’re playing a role, it’s a movie, once the role is over, it ends there; any other thing outside that is outside the sphere of film making and that is a relationship. It might be an off-shoot of whatever you played but it did not create itself on that set. You guys might have liked yourself before now and the movie just granted the opportunity. So, if you are both intimate, on the set, you might just chip it in, that ‘oh you know I’d always liked you, oh I knew and I you too and you’ve finished your role.

I was romantically involved with Kehinde Bankole on the set of Super Story, One bad Apple where I played the role of a corrupt officer.

Role models

Not in any particular order, I would say Al-Pacino, Olu Jacobs and Samuel L. Jackson, they were very influential.

What is your worth as an actor?

I am worth plenty, as an actor, I think I have been short-changed in the industry, whatever they’ve paid me, I am worth three to six times more than that. The only time I think what ever I do is commensurable with what I am being given is when I do Television and that is when I am with Wale Adenuga’s production. The only other time was when I did Sango and Femi Lasode paid me and I feel he paid me the best at that time considering I was just an up-coming and unknown actor. So those two people have managed to create what I am worth for me. I am a wonderful actor and I have tutored myself to be a wonderful actor, Sango might have been a fluke but by the time I did Corporal Francis, people saw it that this young man is not a fluke, he’s actually good at acting and you cannot price such a man low for mediocrity.

Tell us about your kind of woman

My kind of woman, tall, about 5’11’6, light skinned, extremely beautiful, not fat but if I don’t have that height, I won’t mind any other one, she just has to be pretty, I love pretty woman, the height is immaterial, I’m six foot five, I’m in the eye of the public, I walk and people see me. So, any girl I’m with would also be given such an attention, so if she is ugly, imagine what people would say ‘see the guy is ugly and the girl is ugly’ it will create a problem for me but by the time they see a pretty girl with me, they will say what’s this girls doing with this guy and that makes me proud because you’re correlating my face with what I’ve got beside me meaning that I’ve tried and like Yoruba people would say, ‘I carry that to the market’, but basically, I like women who still respect themselves who believe that women are the bedrock of every morally upright society.

Are you into any relationship presently?

I will not answer that question

What would you like to do for humanity?

I am one of those who believe that you don’t need four cars in your drive way, or two houses, I believe that once you have food stuff in your store that can last you a month, the remaining of the money you have is not necessary until next month. I believe that everything that is extra should be given out to those who don’t have. I believe the motherless babies, the physically challenged, mentally challenged homes; we are still not doing enough.

Where do we hope to see you five years from now?

I should have been able to do a mini feature length movie, probably twenty minutes, shot properly and it will be shown at some of the festival and even Hollywood acknowledged something to say that a Nigerian has won a Grammy award.

What is your treasured possession in life?

My relationship with God with regards to my family and friends.

I became an artist right from the womb - Omolara Adenugba

By ONUOHA OLIVER
Wednesday, March 15, 2006

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Young and up coming artist Elizabeth Omolara Adenugba believes that these days, people no longer undermine artists. She told Daily Sun recently that most of them are not making impact because they have not made names. An indigene of Ondo State, 30-year old Adenugba attended Federal Technical College, Yaba, Lagos. She specialises in painting and she is an illustrator with Single and Married Magazine.

Concept/aim
Drawing is my passion and anytime I pick up my pencil, I always depict human emotions, human culture which is not just limited to only Africa. I try to depict people’s environment and showcase their behavioural patterns. I don’t just draw for the fun of it, what really strikes my mind when drawing is emotions and gestures of the images I am drawing.

Motivations
What really keeps me going is my believe in God. The gift that I have is not common because a lot of people long to have something like this and I always thank God for giving such a talent. On thing I have learnt over the years is that, if God bestows some talents on you, you don’t have to be pompous and feel like you are on top of the world. Instead, the individual must see himself as still undergoing a learning process.

Style/Technique
I don’t do much of abstract art. If you look at my works, they tilt towards naturalism. By that school of thought, I was trained to draw what I see. It is more of realism if you like, but it depends on the individual and critics to place my works.

Philosophy
Whatever I do, I make sure I do it well. The road might be rough and like they say, the parts to success is not always smooth. You just have to be focused always and at the end of the day, you’ll get there.

Feminism
Now that I am coming out as a female artist, I have been opportuned to meet other female artists and talents. To my amazement, many of our female artists are so timid, you hardly hear of them. Maybe it is because of their background and upbringing and for some, it could be the influence from their parents who decide what they want their children to become. In my case, I’ve received support right from the womb to become what I wanted to be.

Challenges
Being a female artist has always given me an edge in class but I don’t allow it to get into my head. The challenges are numerous but I faced a particular challenge when I wanted to get a job. I was told that the particular job was meant for a man and not a woman. It was the production manager who saw the zeal in me and told the employer to give me a chance. Again, people used to undermine me because of my stature.

Role model/mentor
There’s one person I really admire his works and his name is Angel. He was the one who introduced me to the charcoal as a medium of painting. Initially, I was crazy about pencil until I met Angel. He encourages up-coming artists unlike others who will destroy your works without seeing anything good in it.

Nigerian art scene
I thank God that Nigerians have started to recognise that artists are noble people, not as crazy lots.. The attitude of Nigerians has changed a lot towards artists. In terms of promoting and marketing arts, some collectors are trying their best by organising exhibitions for young and upcoming artists. The only problem is in the area of marketing; most people don’t buy our works because they would ask, " is she Tola Wewe, or Olu Ajayi or Kolade Oshinowo? Things are not supposed to be so because, I wonder how they want the young ones to survive and fend for themselves?

Exhibitions
The first exhibition I did was titled Experience Nigeria in 2003, after which I did another one with Nigeria Association of Female Artist in 2004 and it was really nice. What really pained me about the exhibition was that a lot female artists had little knowledge of the existence of the association. In 2005, I also featured in Experience Nigeria again and was part of the Art Café exhibition organised by the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and lately, NAFEST in 2005.

Preferred medium
I can express myself the more with the pencil. It’s a kind of medium one can use to express visual information and later transfered into another medium. It is very convenient and less expensive and you’ll go places if you are very skillful with it.

Future plan
I want to take my art round the country and internationally.

Story of Kush, the love singers

Emem

By SOLA BALOGUN and OLIVER ONUOHA. Frday 17, 2004
For the three beautiful girls who met in 1996 at the University of Lagos, music was not originally on the list of their priorities as each became an undergraduate for different reasons. Toyin Shokefun’s dream was to become an Economist while Lara Bajomo hoped to study Architecture to enable her design a mansion of her own.
In her own dream, Emem Ema who hails from Akwa Ibom state planned to study Law. But all these lofty dreams disappeared in 1996 when the trio met as choristers in the Rock Solid Group. They soon teamed up to form KUSH, the high rising musical group which made waves in the entertainment scene.


Ema (popularly called MM) does the rap in KUSH whileToyin Shokefun is into alto and jazz singing. Lara Bajomo, the architect, is the soprano singer. The young singers in a recent encounter explained their musical career to Daily Sun:


The journey so far
Besides God, our parents too have been very supportive. What was fundamental on their minds was for us to get good and qualitative education to a reasonable (graduate) level. We have been able to achieve that. Right now, we get all the support and encouragement that we need. The group started when we were undergraduates at the University of Lagos. We started out as members of the same choir, The


Rock Solid.
Our relationship started on a good note and we’ve been together since then. We never for once imagined that seven years after, we would still be together as a group. It wasn’t something we planned at the beginning but our belief is that since we actually started out doing it for God and making people happy, that’s why God has brought us this far.


Album
Our debut is titled Experience. It was produced in London, Minnneapolis and Los Angeles. We only produced a demo in Nigeria as a ground work which was taken abroad for refinement. The album was made possible by God. We did work hard, and others, like our manager, our record company and our family, supported us.


We’ve been highly blessed and honoured with the response and we are very grateful to our teeming fans. The response is even much more than what we expected.


Hit track
It’s titled Let’s live Together, we tried as much as possible to mirror our society, Nigeria. We decided to inculcate our different languages into our songs. But on a serious note, we don’t actually speak the languages we used in our song. For instance, Lara doesn’t speak Igbo and MM isn’t Hausa but we just tried to express ourselves through the languages. The major thing is that we are all Nigerians.


On the message of the track, our plan was to produce a relevant song to the situation in our country. We thought of an appropriate song that would unite the people of Nigeria at that time that elections were approaching. So we decided to inject it into our maiden album. The track comments on our political situation as most Nigerians were unsure of how the elections would go, and whether we would be able to get it right or not.


Happiest moments


Lara: The process has been a very interesting one. Personally, the happiest moment came when I first saw the CD pack and I tore it open, slot it into a disc player and listened to it. I felt so happy because it was one of the highest points of the whole exercise. For me, from the beginning till now, I’ve been a happy person.


Type of music
Essentially, our music is influenced by our faith, our belief and since we have different persons who contribute to the music, we have always enjoyed working together. But the basic thing is the message we pass across. Our music is hip-hop, R&B, Jazz or even Afrobeat. Our music is a complete fusion of love.


Male member of the group
His name is Dapo and he has been quite busy. He’s been abroad and it has not been convenient for him to join us. But he has always been part of our overseas tours. We started out with Nigeria and moved on to other parts of Africa. We also moved to the United Kingdom.


Achievement
We would not say we have achieved what we set out as our goals, but we would rather say we are on our way to achieving those targets.


Costumes
We try as much as possible to express our different personalities through our mode of dressing. Our accessories are done by Vetroso, a friend of the group. We try as much as possible to keep it nice and simple.


Bad moments
We have had no regrets whatsoever since we decided to come together as a group. We are indeed very grateful to God that things are moving the way we anticipated. We have heard horrible stories from other people but in our case, things are going on as planned and we thank God for everything.

Shows abroad
In 2002, we were at the Festival of Life, an equivalent of Holy Ghost Festival in Nigeria. In 2003, we had a couple of shows abroad. We did one at Methodist Church, London. In 2001, we were at the Nigerian Reunion in New Jersey, USA and also at the United Kingdom. We have also done a number of church performances in London.


Influence of Christianity
Although we are Christians, we make sure our music does not centre on any geographical or religious affiliation. All we do is to cut across religious barriers. Our main dream is to reach out to different kinds of people, home and abroad. For us, we are very glad it’s beginning to happen.


Problems
Our problems may come as our weaknesses as human beings. As human beings, we all have weaknesses that we live with-either on individual basis or collectively as a group (KUSH). At the end of the day, God is our strength and He supplies all that we all need according to His riches in glory.


Childhood
Ema: I loved spending time with my family, my mum, dad and other siblings. I was also attending church services with my parents and buying ice creams and even going to the beach together.

Toyin: My Saturdays used to be exceptionally blissful for me then, and my Sundays too especially when we go to church together as a family.

Lara: When I was much younger, we played games together as children then and our parents were always around to watch us play. To me, those were my fondest memories.


Popularity
We are grateful to God for everything. We really have been honoured by the response we’ve been getting so far. If the question has to do with the effect our fame is having on our persons or pysche, we would just say that we remain as simple as we have ever been.


We concentrate more on our job as a team that make up KUSH. With our dreams and aspiration still our mainstay, we only get to hear so much of our acceptance from our manager who really gets to feel the pulse from the people outside our musical circle.


Love as a universal message
Our Lard Christ Jesus died on the cross for mankind, showing his unconditional love. Love should be more of giving than getting from someone because when you’re constantly piling pressure on someone to give to you, it just puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on that relationship.

Bar Tony Uponi

Being a lawyer does not disqualify you from getting to heaven
By ONUOHA OLIVER


Barrister Tony Uponi is of the opinion that the requirements for appointing Senior Advocates of Nigeria, should be reformed. His reason is that most lawyers, who aspire to be SANs, go to ridiculous extents, including engaging in practices and behaviours that are not in line with the ethics of the profession just to meet those requirements.

Barrister Uponi, is a graduate of Law from the University of Benin also holds a Masters’ degree in Law from the University of Lagos.

Why Law?
I choose Law as a profession because I believe in fairness and equity, I believe that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. That may have something to do with my moral and spiritual upbringing, but I believe in fairness and equity. I choose the legal profession because I feel that I will have the opportunity to contribute my quota towards a fair society.

Refusing cases
The rules of the profession actually make it difficult for you to refuse particular briefs, but because I said I believe in fairness and equity, I don’t see myself coming out in the open to defend somebody who I know has committed something or done something that is unfair to another person.
If you come to me and say you have a dispute with somebody and I find out that you are wrong, my advice to you will be that you go and do the proper thing. To me, it is not all about money, it’s a matter of what is fair in the circumstance.

Will lawyers make heaven?
Yes, I do think that some lawyers will make heaven, lawyers who try to conform to ethical and moral standards and religious standards. You can make heaven if you are a lawyer. Being a lawyer does not automatically disqualify you from heaven, but if you believe that because you are a lawyer you need to blatantly tell lies or encourage your client to tell lies because you want to win a matter in court at all cost, of course you have disqualified yourself from being branded a righteous person. To that extent, you are not expected to make heaven, because you know you are not doing the expectations of God.

Future of the legal profession
Well, I believe there’s a future in the profession in Nigeria because, of late, the courts have become vibrant and reliable.
This is judicial activism. For us lawyers, we are developing more hope and even interest in the Nigerian judiciary. Some of us have been a little bit shy to engage ourselves in litigation because some how we lacked confidence in the system but with the recent pronouncements in the Nigerian courts, hopes are rising that indeed this country has a future, the judiciary is bracing up to its responsibilities.

Cost of running a law firm
In terms of facilities, you need to have a good office accommodation sufficient for your level of practice. If you are, for instance, going to get involved in much of litigation, you need to have a space that can accommodate your clients. You may have 10 or more witnesses coming into your office at the same time. If you are going into solicitor’s job, you are going to invest more in books and in office equipment. You need to have fax, Internet, be able to communicate with your clients on a regular basis. You need good human resources, sufficient back up staff, good secretarial services. If you don’t have a good secretary, you may end up typing the job yourself. For you to maintain these human resources, you need to be prepared to pay them well. We have a problem in our profession where most senior lawyers find it difficult to pay their staff. If you pay your staff well, you’ll get good quality service.

Tutelage
I can not say I did much of tutelage as a young lawyer. I did my youth service in a law firm at Minna, Niger State from 1987 to 1988. After my youth service, I worked in another law firm in Abuja from 1988 to 1989 and at the end of that one year, I opted to go back to school to do a Master’s degree in Law. It was at the University of Lagos, which means I had to relocate to Lagos. Because my primary reason for coming to Lagos was to go back to school, I felt it would be unfair for me to take up an appointment with a law firm, I didn’t go back to any law firm.
By the time I rounded up my master’s degree programme, I was able to get one or two retainership from emerging financial institutions. That gave me the leverage to launch out in setting my own law firm, which I did almost immediately.
I believe, as a matter of principle, that it is proper for lawyers to go through some form of tutelage because it gives you as a lawyer the benefit of supervision. You need senior lawyers who will advice you and lead you on the right part during those formative years because certain values you have as a lawyer are formed in your early years.

Resolving unethical practices
Unethical practices are tackled through the procedures within the Bar association’s disciplinary committee. I believe the committee needs to be much more alert because a lot of these things are influenced by the policy of deterrents. If the legal practitioner’s disciplinary committee dispenses discipline fast and efficiently; lawyers will be more on their guard against these malpractice. As long as there’s this belief that you can do some of these things and nothing will happen because of the beaurocracy involved, then people will be tempted to continue to cut corners. If there’s this fear that there is almost instant punishment for even the slightest of malpractice, many lawyers will brace up, particularly when it comes to litigation.

First appearance
The first day I appeared in court, I was sent by my principal to get a matter adjourned, but somehow my nerves failed me because the judge noticed that I was nervous. Then when I stood up to announce my appearance and inform the court that I was asking for an adjournment, the judge scared me a little bit because he refused to grant the adjournment. Eventually, some other lawyers came to my assistance and the judge granted the adjournment and asked me to see him in chambers. I did see him and he just jokingly encouraged me that he was trying to firm me up. Really, it was worth the while; it was a good experience for me.

Lawyers as liars
When you say lawyers are liars, that statement cannot be true because you are trying to generalise. Some lawyers may tell lies, which means they are liars just like some doctors may tell lies, just like some journalist may tell lies, but it is not true to say that every lawyer is a liar. Indeed, some lawyers who are into litigation actually encourage their clients to tell lies, that now makes the client to believe that lawyers are liars. At times, lawyers are wrongly classified as liars because as a lawyer, you are exposed to one side of a story. For those who know the truth, they will classify you as a liar without considering the fact that it was what you were given that you worked on, it’s a simple case of garbage in garbage out.

Assessment of the judiciary
Like I said earlier, I am proud of the judiciary today. They are bracing up unlike the legislator who have sacrificed their conscience and allowed themselves to be pocketed by the executives. If you go round the country today, you’ll see that most Houses of Assembly are puppets of the respective governors, who buy them cars and send them abroad. The governors determine who be the speaker and all that. That is not happening in the judiciary at least now.

Specialisation
We specialise in corporate services, company services. We have retainership with quite a number of companies. We are registered by the security and exchange commission as capital market solicitors. We involve in capital market issues, public issues, mergers and acquisitions, private placements. We also render secretarial services to some companies. We attend their board meetings, grant them advises from time to time and occasionally, when litigation arises involving those our clients, we are compelled to take it up.

SANship
I believe that the requirement for appointing senior advocates of Nigeria, may need to be liberalised or rather may need to be reformed because as it is now, a lot of people aspiring to become SAN, go to ridiculous extents to meet those requirements. A requirement that says you need to make certain number of appearances at the Supreme Court for instance means that for you to be able to satisfy that requirement, you need to do some unethical things. Some go to prisons to instigate convicts to allow them file appeals on their behalf simply because you want to meet up with such requirement. So, even when they don’t have a genuine cause to file an appeal at the Supreme Court, such people induce litigants to allow them go and appeal simply because they want to meet up with these requirements. So that’s an area I am not comfortable with.

Client management
We manage our clients by being there for them. By giving them quality services. We make conscious efforts not to bite more than we can chew. We essentially service corporate organisations and we don’t have too many clients in terms of numbers. Because of this, we have enough time to attend to the issues that involves each client from time to time.